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Thanks,

Mark McCaw ~ twitter's @bigpicguy

Author of "Insights Inside a Mind" ~ blogging the big picture








Sunday 21 October 2012

Free Advice for @JustinTrudeau et al

     For the interested yet not-so-politically-savvy among those who may choose to read this, I feel compelled to explain, anyone who aspires to any kind of elected position depends upon advisers. The number of which depend heavily on the higher the office one seeks. No one does it alone. The more important role you seek, the more you lean on additional "experts" who provide (you hope) sound argument and good policy ideas that reinforce your own core values. This is your (I hate this term) "war room".

     The reason my headline includes Justin Trudeau is due to his entry into the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. I know Mr Trudeau has read one or more of my blog posts and has tweeted it to get feedback. I am not a member of any political party and have made no monetary donation to any party or campaign. That's the extent of disclosure I can offer, I'm prepared to wait for all comers to declare and at some point I will make it clear who I support, and why. Exactly what I did when the NDP were choosing a succsessor to Jack Layton. It's no secret I hoped the NDP would be led by Nathan Cullen. That didn't come to pass but we accept the honest choices of those involved.

     My point is, I don't concern myself as much who runs for what position in which party, this advice should be taken very seriously by any candidate for any party, or non partisan candidate running for any elected position, and with more urgency exponential to the power of the office they seek. In my lifetime I freely admit voting for Progressive Conservatives (The old kind, not the Tea Party Conservatives currently in power), Liberals, NDP, and Independent candidates in both provincial and federal elections. I am also very honest in that I support people who understand we are all human and sometimes people need help, some more than others, and especially someone willing to say publicly we are rich enough to do it. We ask ordinary Canadian citizens to hand over a far higher percentage of our overall income than we ask obscenely profitable corporations to help us provide them with secure, happy, healthy, well educated workers, willing to support the capitalist system by being better consumers. That basic premise applies to every candidate.

     Now back to the advisers. Among the army of lawyers and economists and image consultants, you should all ensure you employ someone like me. Just an ordinary Canadian. Someone who wasn't advantaged in life. A person who has faced adversity, who has been a contributing member of society, has followed the political and geopolitical world for a long time. Especially someone who is going to honestly tell you the unpopular things others seem unable to utter. Someone who will give you real, down to earth advice about what will give hope to people, rather than serving the market masters. I truly believe most people in public office become disconnected from the neighbourhoods of the nation, it would serve them well to have an "ordinary" person there to present the case for a very important special interest group, people, who have to work hard, those who don't make enough, or can't find enough work, or get sick, or just keep their family afloat.

My suggestion is you not look for an education less than graduation from the School of Hard Knocks.

For the right price, I'm available, but for the sake of this country, at the very least, find someone.

   

Sunday 9 September 2012

Geopolitics is about to Kill Your Children

*****PLEASE NOTE, I WROTE THIS IN JUNE, 2011 AND NEVER GOT TO FINISH. HOW DO YOU LIKE IT TODAY? *****

     Don't be stupid. Don't be naive. Be aware. If you live in Canada, the US, the UK, Israel, and certainly any NATO country, I want you to read this, share this, and talk about this. I generally will not engage in making predictions, and don't consider this to be a prediction.

     That said, I present for your consideration what I believe will come to pass, sooner than you think. As always, you are free to come to your own conclusions, my goal is always to provoke thought. I appreciate comments for and against, you don't even need to leave your name.

     Looking at big pictures can be difficult when you live in a world of instant gratification. When we are training our societies to have the attention span of a gnat, people no longer want to put two and two together, they're fine with just the two.

     Let's just get where we're going. Iran.

     Sooner rather than later we're going to war with Iran. This is not an if. It's going to happen, and sooner than I'd earlier thought. Sometimes entirely predictable geopolitical events can change course or timing, in this case, it's the timing. If you have kids in, considering joining, or nearing service age in Canada, the US, the UK and whatever NATO countries are browbeat into it, expect an Iran war and expect it to make Iraq I & II and Afghanistan look like practice. Which they were.

     We aren't going to start a war with Iran. This would be far too problematic. Iran isn't going to start a war with us, they're not insane. Neither of those things matter. Ready or not, here we go.

     It's not like this should come as a big surprise to anyone, however, it will be a big surprise to a lot of people for some reason. I find it hard to understand how so many people can know who all the celebrities are and when the last time they had a bowel movement yet care to know almost nothing about the serious things that actually affect their lives, but that's another rant for another time.

     We've seen the groundwork being laid for many years. The premise of the war was laid many years ago, but these things take time. Iraq I was about the invasion of Kuwait. It remains suspect that Saddam Hussein would invade Kuwait without some indication from the US there wouldn't really be a problem, after all, he was a strong ally of the US who armed him up to be the 5th largest active military in the world at the time. He was useful, he was a foil to Iran. No one cared that he was gassing the Kurds, they were a thorn in the side of Turkey and we would rather have Turkey on our side so it was geopolitically correct. It became an issue at that point because Saddam had passed his best before date. Oddly, the elder Bush somehow had the good sense to realize it sets a bad precedent to invade a country and kill the leader. This is the biggest of all geopolitical no-nos. Somewhere along the line, America lost that sober second thought. Possibly because Bush I was under a lot of pressure to "get" Saddam, to "finish" the job. When he realized he would be crossing a line that could have serious consequences globally, he had the fortitude to say no.

     This left the US with a couple of problems, a bit of a sticky wicket as it were. Number one, it wasn't well thought out because no one had an alternate plan in case Bush I did what he did, refuse to participate in regime change. Now they were stuck with Saddam at the helm and there was a great likelihood he could start telling stories that might cause some problems at home. There also was the probability he would now align himself against American interests. Problem number two? Belligerent Iran, the problem child. No one with that much oil is allowed to be so anti-American, why, it's un-American of them!!

     Since a military option would not be likely under President Clinton, the machine knew it had to bide its time and wait for a more likely President to take power. So the PR army moves in, suddenly, we regularly hear the two central themes in setting the table for things to come. For Iraq, evil dictator Saddam Hussein was developing "Weapons of Mass Destruction". Iran got the big prize, the "Going Nuclear" award. At any moment, it seemed, Iran could have a nuclear capability that could threaten the entire free world. During Bill Clinton's time in office these themes were widely spread by pundits and various low level talking heads, which led to a great reinforcement in the public mind that the "Axis of Evil" was the greatest threat since the invention of air.

     8 Years of Clinton gave them far more time than they needed to create the new reality. Every day someone, somewhere was discussing the chosen themes. While widely convincing the western populace of the menace we were facing, military planners and the intelligence community worked on a big piece of the overall goal of control of oil. Regime change in Iraq, and control of Iraqi oil. Then the big fish, Iran.

     Enter Bush II (the stupider one), the table was already set, all they needed to do was invite George over for dinner. They did. He ate heartily.

     That they crossed the boundary and launched an undeclared war leading to the hanging of a foreign head of state will surely come back to haunt us at some point, and what will our defense to it be? Do as we say, not as we do? In the process of ridding the world of one "problematic" person, thousands of American and British service men and women died, and civilian and "other" casualties were many times more. The goal of regime change came early, but control of oil takes time, money, and dead bodies, lots and lots of expendable people. When you add the injured, the seriously injured, the mentally destroyed, the numbers are staggering. Along the way came 9/11 and the NATO (which almost always means the US-UK-Canada triumvirate "supported" by various others) response in Afghanistan. Again, the number of lives destroyed far outweighs any sane response to a terrible terrorist attack that killed roughly 3000 global citizens (a great number were foreign nationals), as terrible as it was, the resulting misery caused is more than overkill. The second world war ended in 6 years. The first world war was over in 5.

     We've since had it revealed (far too late) the "weapons of mass destruction" was just a dream scene like all those tv shows. Osama Bin Laden is dead and people are questioning what we're doing in Afghanistan, so we're slipping out the door like a decade of death doesn't much matter anymore, because, in the no-hearted world of geopolitics, it doesn't. A major goal has been achieved that has nothing to do with Bin Laden or Hussein. It has everything to do with Iran.

     If you don't follow the connection, allow me to enlighten you.
   

     Politics is confusing to a lot of people. When you begin to immerse yourself into the geopolitical, the number of people who can actually take in these complex interactions between and among countries of similar and opposite interests narrows even further. Most people, whether they know it or not, have at the very least, a rudimentary knowledge of geopolitics. Most know no country is an island, we must deal with other countries for trade, for security, for travel, for all sorts of interesting and uninteresting things. People understand we have countries that are friends and allies, and other countries we have some level of disagreement with. Beyond that, the relationships and things done behind the scenes are immensely complicated and fraught with twists and turns, and a whole lot of ugly things go on that you could live a lifetime and never dream of, yet these things happen as a matter of course on a daily basis.

     In geopolitics, you don't have to wait for elections. You're usually too busy with conflicts. Where they are, where they're going, how big they are, the chance of spreading, where the trouble spots are, what potential issues may not be resolved with words or threats or bribes, not to mention also trying to determine where the ambitions of countries and/or groups of countries will lead them. Whew. It's fascinating, frustrating, and sometimes frightening, but it's important to have people who take the time to watch and talk about these bigger issues.

     Most of the people of my generation were lucky enough to have lived most of our lives without war. Of course, the big change for us came with the TV war, Viet Nam. It wasn't much less horrific for those of us watching from outside the US. This was the first "proxy" war where the great powers actually got drawn in. It could have been far more dangerous than it was had it ever escalated to the point where US and Soviet troops had actually had to engage one another. Russia had their own comeuppance in Afghanistan when the US armed Osama Bin Laden & company who routed the Russian Bear. Payback, geopolitics-style. The good ending for America was short lived, but that's the chance you take in the shady world of world domination.

     A few recent events have led to my wanting to write this piece now. Since a lot of geopolitics has to depend on educated guesses, sometimes you can feel relatively certain events are leading in a clear path and something upsets the apple cart. Lately, a lot of things are upsetting the cart, so it may be timely to have you thinking about this.

     War. Again. Iran.

     If I were amongst those in a position of great military power it's not a huge stretch to imagine the favorable conditions for the conflict are coming into place, albeit slightly quicker than thought, for regime change (the spurious term used to cover up the goal of controlling oil nations) in Iran. Years ago I wondered why we lingered, militarily, in Iraq and Afghanistan, then, suddenly, troop drawdowns & withdrawal were all the rage. I know I should have made this link years ago but I have a lot of things to think about.

     We have now created a generation of battle hardened desert fighters.

     This post became even more relevant today, September 8th, 2012, due to the actions of my country, Canada. comments welcome.
 

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Prepare the Pledge of Allegiance!

Welcome to Canada Harperstan

Time to toss out the bullshit with the bathwater. Harper wasn't kidding. People are already claiming they no longer recognize Canada. Foreign citizens keep asking me "What the fuck happened to Canada"? (grown ups use big words like that around me)

Don't worry my friends! These are the good times. The general idea was we would not recognize Canada when Stephen Harper was done with it. The bad news is: He isn't done yet.

Since foreigners no longer recognize Canada, and Canadians no longer recognize Canada, and Stephen Harper, ideological leader of his own cult of personality, has decked the halls of Parliament with many likenesses of himself and even gone so far as to rename the government of the nation after himself, I say we drop the charade and go with the flow.

Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of Harperstan


I found my first Harperstani flag on the weekend while visiting Canada's birthplace. I know it was once known as Prince Edward Island, although I am reasonably sure the naming rights are for sale as we speak. Now I'm aware the transformation is more complete than I'd originally thought, I've decided patriotism is important in any country where the leader hangs large portraits of himself in public and renames things in his glorious honour.

To show my extreme patriotism, I have taken time to write a new national anthem for Harperstan. Because Harperstan is an austerian country, where all good citizens practice austerity, we will keep the music from the old O Canada, but sing the all new Harperstani words. This works pretty well since most of us really didn't know all the words to the old national anthem either. As long as you can carry the tune (ok not even that), or as long as you think you can, you can sing along with our new national anthem. Feel free to record a video of yourself singing it and share it on YouTube as a tribute to our amazing leader.

(With apologies to the authors/composers of O Canada!)

O Harperstan

O Harperstan
Our Home is Native Land
We Kicked Them Off
On To a Postage Stamp

With Frozen Hearts
We Just Can't Decide
If People
Should be Free

We Will Take a Bribe
For Harperstan
We Will
Cash in on Thee

Fraud Keeps our Land
From Being Free
O Harperstan
We'll Sell Our Oil For Cheap

O Harrrrperstan
We'll sell our oiiiiiiiiiillllll forrrrrrrrrr cheeeeeeeap!


I apologize to my French-speaking friends that I haven't included our other official language in the song, however, I have it on good authority Dear Leader really doesn't give a fiddler's fuck about Frenchmen, as evidenced by his ignoring Quebec flood victims then suggesting they should pay for the cleanup themselves.

Sorry for your luck. Sorry for all of our luck.

Long live Harperstan.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

I've Accepted the Fascism Challenge

Here we go.


Yesterday I caused quite a stir. As one can imagine, I'm used to that.


My suggestion that ordinary citizens must demand answers from their government drew the considerable ire of government supporters. Amidst the hundreds of childish names I was called (yes, I shot back, because you dickwads can't bully me, two can play that sandbox game), among the many times these fools posted tweets saying absolutely stupid things and trying to make it appear as though I had said them (this is a normal tactic of Harpertrolls), were a few challenges. Actually, a single challenge, repeated by a few of them.


Anyone who knows me will also know I don't back down from anyone. On any level. If you can actually prove me wrong on something I say, I am big enough to acknowledge if I'm wrong and if the situation calls for it, I'll actually apologize. Unfamiliar concepts for a lot of internet folks, but I have my own standards.


Back to the challenge. Since I am fond of referring to the tactics of the Harper government as exhibiting fascist leanings, some of his fanboys & fangirls thought I should be the one to prove it.


With the help of a good research background, here ya go fuckers. By the way, you'll have to do a little work on your own, because I'm going to link to examples, not rewrite everything for you.


First, how is fascism defined?


In very long form, and of course, subject to discussion, here is the Wikipedia version


This, in shorter form, is the definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary


For the purposes of this blog, I intend to compare the Harper government to the fourteen defining characteristics of fascism as assembled by Lawrence Britt. There is much debate as to the validity of such definitions, and interesting discussion of which you could read here and if you are a fan of reading, history, political science, or just plain expanding your mind, this is a pretty decent starter list of reading materials.


Now let me say this before I continue. Don't be an idiot I am not saying Stephen Harper is Adolph Hiltler so don't even go there.


I am comparing the actions of our current government to a list of characteristics shared by numerous governments in several countries at various points of history.


The importance of what I am writing is not because I think the conservative party of Canada is about to start rounding people up and slaughtering them en masse, because that is patently ridiculous. I don't think that, even though I am sure some people will scan this blog and accuse me of that. Wrong.


The importance is I do fear many conditions are being put in place by our current government that can be used in more dangerous manners than any of us care to believe.


I don't think Harper has evil intentions, more personal ambitions. By fulfilling his own personal ambitions, he is setting the table for someone who really does have evil intentions to use and abuse the system that is being put in place right now. In Canada (and other western nations I will add).


If you think I am going to give you exact matches to every characteristic on the list, stop reading. This isn't my doctoral thesis, it's a blog post. An opinion you can consider or discard. I am, however, going to provide examples for each of the fourteen characteristics and you can freely look for others on your own. I'm not your mommy, you either do your homework or stay as uninformed as you wish. You have the right to agree, disagree, or not care. Just because I believe you should care doesn't mean you will. I pose this post only as a cautionary tale for those who think I am not wrong.


To be 100% clear, NO I do not believe we currently live in a fascist country. YES I do believe more and more laws are being put in place that are sending us down that road. Not a road I have any desire to go down, but we still have personal choice.




One last thing before I do this. If you want to argue some other government at some other time behaved in similar fashion, feel free to write your own blog post about it, more power to you, hope you get a billion reads, honestly. But don't expect me to do your research for you.


Let us take it from the top.


#1 (Powerful & Continuing) NATIONALISM

The government of Stephen Harper continually sends messages about the superiority of Canada. Some of these are delivered to a national audience. The idea we are somehow superior because we don't appear to be in as desperate shape as some of the world's other economies. The government wants to portray Canada as an energy superpower, somehow extrapolating this into giving Canada status as a world superpower. For some people, this may play well, seeing their Prime Minister Lecturing those "socialist" Europeans about how they must fix their economies and how he expects them to do it. While this may play well to a domestic audience, the recipients of such lectures don't intend to bow to Stephen Harper or any foreign know-it-all. This government has an agenda of building a nationalism based not on actual fact, but public relations twisting of events to try to create a Canada of their own making. While many Canadians hoped to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our own Charter of Rights and Freedoms, this government snubbed the occasion in favour of spending big dollars celebrating the war of 1812, essentially a war between British Troops, Aboriginals, and Americans, fought and over with 55 years before Canada became a country. In fact, the attempt to elevate this odd border skirmish into some kind of revisionist beginning of the nation of Canada, extended to this year's Canada Day celebrations on parliament hill, even according to the conservative leaning National Post, was not well received. 

Do some research on your own. Tell me you can't find instances of this government beating a drum of Canadian pride, which unfortunately, is not matched by the actions and legislation of this government.

#2 Disdain for Human Rights

Where this one begins and ends is hard to measure. I don't mind beginning with the Harper Government's apparent total disdain for its own citizens the moment they go outside our own borders. It's difficult to ignore the case of Maher Arar who our government allowed to be taken off a plane in the United States, taken to Syria, tortured, was completely innocent of any crime and the taxpayers had to pick up the 10.5 million dollars in damages rightly awarded to him. How about this gem. Remember the woman stranded in Kenya because the Canadian government accused her of not being who she said she was? Is this how we defend the rights of Canadians? Having them wrongfully imprisoned in a foreign country and actually leaving them there until a DNA test proved she was exactly who she said she was. I don't remember an apology and I'm unsure how much we will pay for the Harper Government's disdain for human rights in this case. Locally, we've had the Harper government actively fighting to get Potato Farmer Henk Tepper sent to Algeria to be tried there. Add stories like this to fiascoes like the G20 which has spawned thousands of stories of disdain for human rights, including this one, or this one, or even this one. 

Again, do some of your own research on the Harper human rights record, including endorsement of using information obtained by torture, ignoring a plea bargain with the US over the Omer Khadr situation, even the treatment of our own Aboriginal Nations.

#3 Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats (as a unifying cause)

I don't even need links for this one. Muslims. We must always be in fear of Muslim terrorists, Islamists, criminal refugees, criminal illegal immigrants and anyone who looks different. There are also the domestic terrorists like environmentalists, and of course, the most evil, worst enemy Canadians could ever have, Liberals, lefties, dippers, commies, socialists and the like. Count women in there too, in a subtle way. In fact, this government would have ordinary Canadians believe that anyone who disagrees with anything this government says or does is an enemy of the state.

Don't try to tell me you haven't noticed.

#4 Supremacy of the Military

Canada was once a respected nation of peacekeepers. Other countries didn't hate us. Then came the Harper government, who beat the drums or war wherever and whenever they can. They don't really care much for veterans or taking care of them, unless they are useful for a photo op. Canada is frequently seen as sabre rattling, Lybia, Iran, denouncing Palestinians, who knows who could be next, so this government plans to spend a lot of money on military projects, many of which I hadn't even heard of before reading them. We all know about the F35 fiasco. Nobody can really seem to explain how we need stealth and first-strike capability fighter bombers to defend Canada. Who are we attacking? Do we defend ourselves by bombing our own cities? Meanwhile the lies roll on, and on, and on! This doesn't even get into why the Harper government has kept silent about a deal signed that allows the US military to operate inside Canada. In a country that has never been directly attacked by anyone, why such a sudden requirement for a military that looks far more offensive than defensive.

Again, you can find many instances of this government having no coherent plan other than beefing up the military without explanation as to why the taxpaying citizens need it. Doesn't look like the "peace dividend" ever pays in a Harper Canada.

#5 Rampant Sexism

I'm the first to admit I'm not a woman. It's hard to speak for women when you aren't one, but this government appears to have taken dead aim at women. They've taken a samurai sword to women's programs especially, as noted in this posting, as well as women's health cuts revealed in the omnibus bill C38. This doesn't get to a discussion of M312 which is really nothing more than a trial balloon to see if they can take away women's rights over their own reproductive choices. This is clearly a government who believe women should be shut up, knocked up, and in the kitchen where they belong. It's interesting to note the now internationally famous Slutwalk woman's rights protests began in Canada, because a police officer said women who dressed a certain way were "asking for it", a central sexist theme used to excuse men for rape.

#6 Controlled Mass Media

The greatest threat to free society is a biased media. It is much easier to manage media bias when you have a greater degree of concentration of ownership.  When you allow ownership of mass media into fewer hands, those fewer hands are grateful and easier to manipulate. Then we have the CBC, favorite target of the Harper government and their rabid fans, yet, you either didn't know, or like me, cannot explain or come to terms with this fact: CBC/Radio-Canada adopted a new code of ethics on April 2, 2012 to introduce guidelines for standards of integrity and professional conduct for its staff. This new code is a serious threat to the independence of the public broadcaster and its staff. Section 1.2 of the code states that CBC/Radio-Canada staff must loyally carry out the decisions of their leaders and support ministers in their accountability to Parliament and Canadians. There is no exception for the opposition. 

#7 Obsession with National Security

How much more evidence does one require? This government intends to pass legislation allowing itself to spy, warrantlessly, upon anyone, anytime, anywhere and never have to tell you about it. Have you tried taking a flight in the last decade? They pretty much want to rape you to let you on board, and don't carry nail clippers or you could end up on a no fly list. It's undisputed we are living under the most secretive government in our history, and we are so obsessed with security, we have agreed to let America operate within and around our borders with impunity. What could we possibly be so frightened of we cannot take care of ourselves? Why, in Canada, am I reading more and more news stories containing the phrase "heavily armoured police"? Police. Not military. Not reserves. Heavily. Armoured. Police. What, exactly, are they so afraid of? Environmentalists? I don't get it, if you do, please explain.

#8 Religion & Government are Intertwined

I don't think it's much of a secret the Conservative Party of Canada has more than a small share of MP's who come carrying ties to rather fundamental religious groups/organizations and churches. I have always been a firm believer there should always bee a clear separation of church and state. I really need someone to explain what governmental purpose an Office of Religious Freedoms would serve. Religions belong in their churches, and politics belongs in our parliament. Why have the twain met under the Harper government.

#9 Corporate Power is Protected

It has become exceedingly difficult to quickly find stories of how corporations call the shots. What we do know is secretive "trade" talks are going on over several fronts. CETA, deals with China, Latin America, the TPP, it's difficult to keep up and I don't really like to link to other blogs if I can help it. These many trade deals are immensely complex and require a really advanced understanding of how trade rules and changes thereto affect everyday citizens. While citizens are told they have to live with less and less, work harder and longer, corporate taxes are being reduced more and more, even when we already have exceedingly low corporate taxes. With all the benefits afforded corporations at our expense, you would think our standard of living should be going up and unemployment going down but it's exactly the opposite, even though the biggest corporations are earning record profits, CEO and executive pay has accelerated at a record pace while wages for works stay stagnant or move downward while costs continue to increase. To me that says corporations are protected a lot more than citizens are. Even as they bragged Canada didn't "bail out our banks" they quietly used the CMHC to purchase over a hundred billion dollars in questionable mortgages from the banks, you can find stories about it all over your local search engine. Almost every media outlet reported on it.

#10 Labour Power is Suppressed

Air Canada. Canada Post. CP Rail. Back to work legislation when there hasn't even been a labour disruption. Big taxpayer gift of over 19 million to Caterpiller Inc to buy Electromotive in Ontario but no penalty when they tried to bust the union and closed up shop to move to a non-union state in the US. Why should we not have our taxpayer dollars back and a penalty for this company? Constant vilification of labour as some kind of evil force. Muzzling of government employees under threat of elimination. If anyone thinks the Harper government wants to cooperate with the working class in this country they must pay absolutely no attention to reality. Go search news sites. Labour Minister Lisa Raitt has no record of fairness in the exercise of her office. She isn't doing the bidding of Canadian workers, she does the bidding of those who would profit from lowering the standard of living for Canadian workers.

#11 Disdain for Intellectuals & the Arts

If you want to talk disdain for intellectuals, lets talk about muzzling of federal scientists. The key right there is those last 4 highlighted words are separate stories of the Harper Government muzzling federal scientists lest they say something in public that contains facts that don't agree with policy. Doctors are begging this government not to let refugees to this country fall fatally ill by cutting off funding to their care, the government has responded by mean spirited cuts and a Minister (Jason Kenney) who allegedly called refugees "criminal illegal immigrants" (even though he is minister of a department that knows refugees and immigrants are totally separate entities) and attempted to convince provinces to cut health care funding for them as well. Is he telling doctors they are stupid and refugees are better off dead? Don't physicians understand health care better than an ideologue politicial minister who is supposed to be overseeing the integration of all new Canadians? Anything artistic that rubbed the Harper government the wrong way was quickly defunded. The recent budget made major funding cuts to the arts including their favorite target, the CBC/Radio-Canada. if you need any more proof, you need only learn more about environmental artist Franke James, a courageous Canadian who won't be silenced.

#12 Obsession with Crime & Punishment

If you don't know anything about the omnibus crime bill you'd better read a lot, real fast. Here are just some of the mass media stories on this bill. The one Vic Toews said either we support or we're with the child pornographers. you can choose from The Toronto Star, CBC.ca or The National Post and even The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, along  with dozens of other stories. We're told we have to spend billions on new prisons because of high rates of supposed unreported crime and when even TEXAS, the rootinest, tootinest, crimebustinest law and order society on the planet tell your country their plan was exactly the same and was a dismal failure which ended up almost bankrupting them, you would think the Harper government would pay attention. but no.

#13 Rampant Cronyism & Corruption

In all honesty, who can't name how often we've heard of commissions and offices set up under Harper who have produced no work for millions of dollars. We have two sitting senators, appointed by Harper, who plead guilty to election fraud. How about Bruce Carson. How is it the RCMP could approve this man, convicted 5 times for fraud, for the top job in the PMO and we have never been told who approved him and no discipline for whoever made this major error. Dean Del Mastro is under investigation for breaking election laws in 2008 and refuses to give a statement after his rights have been read to him. Then there's Pierre Poutine, the many irregularities surrounding the Guelph campaign. Complaints elections Canada considers valid in 200 ridings. 80 million dollars in funds to speed up border crossings diverted to gazebos and signs and outdoor toilets and street beautification in Tony Clement's far from the border riding, rumoured to be spent in a shady method without a paper trail. This is just scratching the surface.

#14 Fraudulent Elections

Convictions in the in and out scandal in the 2006 election. Dean Del Mastro having very questionable paperwork regarding his 2008 expenses and serious concerns alleging his cousin is heavily involved in fraudulently enticing employees and others to make 1000 dollar donations to the campaign of someone in a riding hundreds of miles away in order to be reimbursed an extra 50 dollars and a receipt for a big fat tax deduction. Currently it is alleged some of these peoples are offing copies of the reimbursement cheques in return for immunity from prosecution. Then there's Pierre Poutine. Then there's Etobicoke-Centre. Face call to constituents about Irwin Cotler. Fake calls from elections Canada that match a conservative database. Employees of a call centre filing affadavits they directed people to wrong polling stations. Suddenly replacing the key man in Elections Canada, the man responsible for the robocalls investigation, a man with considerable justice background and experience with a career civil servant who has no such experience.

I could write for a long time about what I feel is the tendency of this particular government to lead us down a legislative road that if it isn't fascism, is a huge step toward clearing the way for worse, more draconian, more frightening legislation.

That's my answer to all of those who said I couldn't provide a single example how this government exhibited any fascist tendencies. There are plenty more. Find them yourself, it's easy.

Friday 29 June 2012

#DisruptACon (Updated)

So Harper's Heroes are now hiding in the closet. No surprise.

No matter. We can do better. Step up our game. They've treated us all as garbage and now they've come to the end of any ideas they had about running (or should I say ruining) the economy and they're thinking they can bluff us into believing a word that spews from their mouths. We have had enough of Harper and his merry band of criminals, so let's show it to everyone.

#DisruptACon

By now, I sincerely hope Canadians are waking up to the truth these people who call themselves the conservative party of Canada are not ever going to respond to the normal, civilized, Canadian way of doing things. They just aren't. The sooner you accept that as absolute fact, the better it is for our country.

So, what do I propose?

Not violence. I make that perfectly clear. If you're looking for a "take up arms" type, I am not your man.

What's left? Plenty.

Today is the day you have to accept, at least temporarily, that all the ugly, dirty, underhanded shit of American politics is upon us. I don't need to list the litany of Harper government transgressions when it comes to queering elections. Just follow the work of Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor. If that isn't enough to make you sick to your stomach, you can google plenty of news relating to election irregularities both proven, and alleged against the conservative party of Canada. Does anyone ever, in their lifetime, remember a government that operated this way? What kind of government takes open steps to muzzle any kind of critical voice? What kind of government attacks its own citizens, calling them terrorists and child pornographers and pedophiles. If you disagree with anything they say or do, you are somehow evil. Excuse my language, but that is just totally fucked up.

If you can read this wiki, at least a couple of paragraphs you should probably be able to imagine how easy it is to connect the dots straight to these people.

By definition, politicians, especially elected ones, are public figures. Normally, even when we haven't agreed with the party in power or their representatives, we still had to afford them a modicum of respect. They at least responded to your concerns. I've written the Prime Minister, other Ministers, and even local MP's and I receive a form letter in return. Sometimes, if I write to more than one, I get the exact same form letter, signed by various MP's. These people are flat out telling Canadians "Fuck you, we're doing whatever we want, and we don't even have to answer you".

Enter #DisruptACon

What is it? Disrupt a con is a next step. It's a step we must take. It's not for everyone, and there are certainly a complex number of levels we will be operating at.

Conservatives are making the lives of Canadians miserable in many different ways. #DisruptACon is about returning the favour, in spades.

It doesn't involve tents. Pot and Pans are ok. The number of Canadians who will be hurt with the passage of the two omnibus bills (so-called budget and crime bills) and other recent legislation is almost unfathomable. We have to be more insistent, in a more creative way.

Since our conservative MP's are public figures, I see no reason not to treat them like celebrities. Rather than occupiers, we need to become a kind of citizen papparazzi. Everyone can find their own level of #DisruptACon from the people with lots of time and dedication, to people who don't think there is anything they can do.

Here's an example of #DisruptACon



The time is now. It's bullshit season. These slimeballs have been lying so long they believe their own lies. Their foolish eggs in one basket economic plan has collapsed. They've been in panic mode promising all things to all people and delivering nothing, nada, zippo, sweet F.A. These useless bits of human garbage have to face an election, therefore will need to make public appearances. For those who know how to organize protests, or know those available to protest, this offers a wonderful opportunity. Tents brought attention to the initial message of Occupy, unfortunately, they became more of a disruption to citizens than authorities who waited until citizens began to complain and legitimized the use of force to break up the camps. The ideas took hold and are being talked about, so there is some win there. Pots and pans have sharpened attention on Quebec protests against loi 78 and has spread. Rather than try to set up 24/7 encampments, we need a certain form of non-violent guerrilla civil disobedience.

#DisruptACon is about making the lives of elected conservative members miserable. It's about people showing up at every public function they appear at. It's about finding them in public places and confronting them on their policies and demanding explanations.

If you're reading this, you own a smartphone or computer, or at least have access to one. If there is nothing else you think you can do, here's something very simple. Open up your email. Get a listing of conservative MP's parliamentary email addresses right here. Set up a template, email to all of them, and send them either a question or a comment or a concern at least once a day. If just 1000 Canadians use this as their form of protest, every conservative MP will have 7000 emails a week in their inbox. It only takes a minute.

Nobody likes junk mail. Fortunately if you are employed, you can go to a business supply place and buy envelopes in bulk. Save up all the junk mail you get a week and stuff it into a manilla envelope. Address it to your MP at the house of commons. Sending mail to your MP at the house of commons requires no postage. So why not let some conservative earn their pay sorting and disposing of all that junk mail you don't want in your local landfill.

Most of us have telephones. Use yours to call your local MP. If you can't contact them to answer questions for you, you can leave messages. You can also call after hours, if they have a message machine and you're bored, why not call repeatedly and leave long rambling messages until you get tired or their message box is full. Be careful not to say anything that could get you in trouble. Just ask questions, ask them to explain changes they are making, or why they are ordering civil servants not to talk to the public. Ask lots of questions.

Do whatever you have to do to #DisruptACon but keep it non violent and legal. Canadians need to let them know that making people miserable can become a two way street. We need to put sustained pressure on these people and let them know the real Canadian majority will no longer allow them a free ride.

For the most part, I feel the mainstream media has abandoned citizens. While I can't directly blame journalists, I can point to consolidation of media ownership in western countries. Even journalists need to make a living, if your employer won't print or broadcast your stories, you're jobless. That said, we are lucky to still have some very fine journalists doing great work in an extremely difficult environment.

#DisruptACon is action every Canadian can take. Age or ability is not a factor,

Stories, photos, and video of any actions you take to #DisruptACon are also wanted so I can update and encourage Canadians to finally get a voice.

#DisruptACon ~ we must join together and show our concerns can not be ignored. The Harper government likes to play boogeyman and frighten people. It's time to frighten them back. A never ending stream of disruptions every which way they turn is a language they cannot possibly ignore. Let it be clear they will never be elected again. We are their employers. Let's tell them loud and clear: Conservatives...You're FIRED!


Saturday 2 June 2012

#13Heroes (Part II)

First, thank you to everyone who read, shared, and commented on my initial 13 Heroes post. I greatly appreciate all the support and wonderful messages of encouragement from all. Thanks again, and let's get the #13Heroes hashtag to the point where it can't be ignored!

I'd like to introduce you to my inspiration for #13Heroes, and the reason I feel so passionately about this. My Dad.



This is what a real hero looks like. During World War II, for those who can appreciate this sort of thing, Dad was a tail gunner in the RAF. For those who may be less military-savvy, he was the last line of defense for a big, lumbering bomber. He sat alone, in a glass bubble under the tail of an enormous plane, the main target of German fighter planes, the bombers took a terrible toll on the enemy, and the enemy did not take that lightly. When all else failed, and a fighter was able to get in behind a bomber, with their superior speed and bristling with guns, my Dad was that guy they wanted dead immediately. He was the only thing left to stop them from bringing his plane and its crew down. Many bombers and their crews died horrible, flaming deaths. That's the bleak reality of war, not the sanitized movie depiction we've come to know and love.

When the world was under threat, my father and millions of men like him didn't say "I can't go against Hitler, it could ruin my career to oppose him". Only cowardly politicians can say "I can't go against Harper, it's useless" with a straight face. Or a grin, like the current, undignified crop of punks.

My father got in that bomber to preserve a way of life, a more caring and principled society. Eventually, the law of averages will get you and he was shot down. He survived. What would have happened at that point if he'd said "I was shot down, I'm afraid of Hitler"? I don't know, because my father, apparently, was not as cowardly as a conservative MP. I'll guarantee my dad wouldn't have cowered from the likes of Stephen Harper, schoolyard bully Prime Minister. He didn't quit, he got back into another bomber and let Hitler know he still wasn't afraid. Again with the law of averages, dad was shot down again. Obviously lucky for me, he survived yet again. Did he play cowardly conservative MP? Did he say "Now I've been shot down twice, I really need to fear Hitler"? No. He wasn't the type to say "Oh Mr. Harper, I fear you so I will never vote against you, no matter how wrong you are or how many people are hurt by you", no, you can bet John McCaw would never have uttered that kind of crap. He got back into another bomber and continued to fight until the end of the war. He was released with a chest full of medals, none so treasured as his Distinguished Flying Cross. He re-enlisted and served for several more years before immigrating to Canada to marry my mother. His injuries were such he became a paraplegic, and, as you can see above, died at age 44. My dad knew what a real hero was, he lived in the skin, as did, and do, many others. For now, those heroes are not conservative MP's.

In a way, my first 13 Heroes post brought me somehow closer to dad. As he sat, alone in a bubble, with a mission to stop his, and future generations, from a life under fascist rule. Here I sit, in my own metaphorical bubble, with a mission to stop Stephen Harper. A man I believe will do irreparable damage to Canada and Canadian citizens. Dad was one among many who did what he had to do, as will I.

I went to visit Dad's grave today. I don't do it often, I find it infinitely painful. Today I did, because it was important to me to go there and promise my Dad, my Hero, that I would never stop my fight to find 13 Heroes. Trust me. Even if I get shot down, I will get in another metaphorical bomber and continue to fight what I believe is a traitorous injustice that a small minded megalomanic wishes to rain down upon this generation, my daughter's generation, and everyone who comes after. Corporations do not come before people. My father was willing to put his life on it, why should I even begin to consider doing any less?

The support I've been shown buoys me, it allows me to ignore some of the foolish attacks that have been launched against me. The only thing I regret is my daughter is frightened for me. Since she learned from her father that paying attention to politics is important, she knows this government has allowed people to be shipped to third countries and tortured. She knows Stephen Harper is powerful and doesn't like those who oppose him. That he prefers to silence opposition. I've told her I must honour my father and all those who made similar sacrifices, even if they bundle me on a plane to some place where they'll be happy to extract my toenails with pliers. If they do, they do. There really is only one way to stop me, and that is to kill me. I am a very determined man.

I'm not being melodramatic. I'm not the overly emotional type. I want you to look at the picture below and really think about it. If you think this isn't exactly where C38 and the omnibus crime bill will take us, then come to me with fact and prove me wrong. Not name calling or ideology or rhetoric. Facts. Prove me wrong. What in that list is not happening or soon to happen in Canada?



I don't want to explain all the details of why I think it is so wrong to pretend to be passing a budget bill, when it includes dozens of other pieces of legislation that remove fisheries laws, remove environmental protection and oversight, penalize people who have difficulty finding work, create conditions where the citizens of Canada could oppose a project, where environmental studies show it could be disastrous, yet the cabinet (not government, just the cabinet) could grant approval to go ahead anyway. Gutting coast guard and search and rescue capabilities on both coasts...oh yes, allowing American authorities to ignore our sovereignty and operate on Canadian soil. Those are just a tiny fraction of the heinous laws they are trying to pass in the guise of a budget.

Don't just take my word for it. Educate yourself. Ask why the government has to keep invoking closure on debate, and moving committee meetings to private "in-camera" sessions. If this government had any intention of representing the needs of Canadians, they wouldn't be trying to hide it, they'd be bragging about it so often you'd know every intimate detail of bill C38. Most people just hear it referred to as a budget. It sure is. They hear that this budget has been debated longer than any other in history. Also deceivingly true. Beyond that, conservatives aren't trumpeting all the baggage that goes with it. It's like marrying a woman who fails to inform you beforehand she has 70 dependent children and other assorted relatives. Maybe they've debated the budget, but they haven't debated the legislative changes.

Add the omnibus crime bill with its Soviet-style all out warrantless internet spying and more severe sentences for some fool growing a few pot plants than for pedophiles.

I am going to urge conservative MP's to look at this bill. To look at the omnibus crime bill. Then come and look your constituents in the face and tell them you are going to vote against this bill C38 because you are not a coward. You aren't scared to do what is right. That you'll be remembered in history as taking a principled stand against something that is very, very wrong.

It makes no difference if you vote nay, abstain, cross the floor, but by whatever means possible, you must be more like my dad, fight for open democracy. You aren't going to die. You aren't going to have any problem being elected again and again, even if you run as an independent. The people who need #13Heroes will never let that happen. We will pledge to abandon our own party politics to support you in that seat. We will take care of you, hell, the book deals alone will take care of your families for the rest of your life.

So.

Will we have cowards who don't dare stand up to their boss? Or #13Heroes?

Don't let up. Do everything you can to stop C38. Write your MP, call them, email them, show up at their office, attend protests, tell your friends and family, educate yourself before Canada as you know it no longer exists. You will have a Canada wholly owned by corporations and foreign nations, with no regard for the well being of the weakest of its citizens. A Canada hated by other countries, exactly like the US. Perhaps, just the gateway to Stephen Harper's secret desire to be president of the US. Why not merge, so he could be known as the "Most Powerful Man in the World". I put nothing past this man.

Please get involved, like these people today in Vancouver, and others all across this country, who just want Canada to be Canada. Who want at least the semblance of honesty. Who need 13 Heroes.




Thank you all for reading. Thank you for all the support. Thank you for taking action. Much love to all.
Thanks to Leadnow.ca for their fantastic network of people.

Now LET'S DO THIS! #13Heroes for CANADA!

Sunday 27 May 2012

13 Heroes

I consider my father, and millions like him, heroes. Dad was shot down twice in World War II, a winner of the distinguished flying cross. He managed to survive and win the war, but because of the injuries he sustained, the price he paid for the defense of freedom and democracy, 3 young boys were left to grow up without a dad, as were so many others, collateral damage of a battle like no other.

Globally, we now face the same battle. We are being run by the tyrants of greed. Their wholly owned governments are passing nearly identical oppressive laws in almost all "western-style" democracies.

I'm one single Canadian. Currently up in the middle of the night in my bed, with my laptop, about to introduce you to the launch of a new movement. I call it 13 Heroes.

13 Heroes is a movement of ordinary citizens of Canada who are appalled at a "so-called" budget bill that in 450 pages cuts the guts out of this country, with the ultimate exception of any business that wants to do business without oversight of environmental laws, no one to examine effects, decimating departments that protect the lives and health of citizens.

My father and all those other veterans did not fight and be injured and die to allow a questionably-elected government to destroy a century of cooperation and compromise in building a great, respected democratic nation.

13 Heroes is a movement to finally end the fascist reign of Stephen Harper once and for all.

In order to do this I am going to need 3 things. Number one, dedicated help. Number two, enthusiastic Canadians ready to bring us back from disgrace to respect in the eyes of the world. Number 3, money. Until I am able to set up not only a way to donate, but a transparent way of accounting for every cent will we receive and how it is dispersed, we are not asking for money.

We need people, as many as feel Harper has to go before he destroys the country. The weight of our people must be enough to create 13 Heroes. We need to make it imperative that 13 members of Stephen Harper's party commit and follow through on voting against the budget bill.

A loss on this bill requires a new election as a budget bill is always a confidence vote. 13 Heroes must be convinced to bring down this horribly wrong government before it is too late.

So I need you with me. I need you to contact me. I'll have a facebook page asap, and will set up a twitter account as well. Get me at my personal twitter account for now @bigpicguy

I need you. All we need are 13 heroes to save Canada. We can, we must do this. Let's get started, get me here or twitter or facebook but let's mobilize! NOW. Before we're too late.

13 Heroes. A lot less than they needed in my dads time.

Please be a part of history with me.

Monday 27 February 2012

I Do Not Trust My Country Anymore

     It's been a while since I've written. I really wanted a chance to see what Stephen Harper would do with his coveted majority. Today I've seen enough. The apparent deliberate voter suppression tactics must be fully, deeply investigated, and the perpetrators and those involved in the planning and giving the orders must be brought to justice. That is a minimum.

     If Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his party are innocent, Mr. Harper would realize his government has not lost the confidence of parliament, but has lost the confidence of the citizens of this country. If he and his party deserve to govern, he would, without hesitation, agree to visit the Governor-General and ask him to dissolve the 41st parliament, and allow Canadians to participate in a free and fair election monitored by the United Nations. If he has nothing to hide or fear, he should win again. Let there be an investigation of election 41, while we have an honest election 42. Why, it should be a romp for him, facing 2 parties that are running on interim leaders, right?

     Below is the text of a letter I just sent to Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada and Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands, BC. I also copied the Honourable Bob Rae, Interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre, ON, and Nycole Turmel, Interim leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada and Member of Parliament for Hull-Aylmer, QC.

Elizabeth,

Thank you for taking time to respond to my deep concern. Is there a possibility of a citizen making a formal complaint to the U.N.?

The reason I ask about such an extreme measure is, for the first time in my life, I have lost faith in the institutions of my country. I can't trust an investigation by the RCMP if I look at their conduct and lack of accountability. The idea Bruce Carson, a 5 time fraud convict, was vetted by the RCMP for the top job in the PMO, and that no one to my knowledge can tell me who cleared him and why they still have: a.) their rank and/or b.) their job is the tip of the iceberg. I've heard an interview with one of the girls working at a call centre who claims to have complained to her supervisor, the RCMP and Elections Canada and we only hear now that she was ignored? I've seen it acknowledged there was a lady who complained to Elections Canada in Guelph during the campaign, and they dropped this immensely important complaint because the lady didn't want to pursue it? I am unaware whether RCMP were aware of this incident but surprised if they weren't.

I need to know someone is trustworthy enough to defend and protect democracy in Canada. I am unconvinced this can be achieved from within. This is not a game to me. This is not a sport about whose team won. Who do we turn to when we cannot trust our highest institutions? This cannot be dismissed as dirty tricks. I don't care who they are affiliated with, I want to see justice done and I no longer have confidence it will be done internally.

I, and many of my friends have this to ask: To whom do we turn for justice?

I eagerly await your suggestions, and thanks in advance for your speedy reply,

Sincerely
Mark S. McCaw
Concerned Canadian.
CC Hon. Bob Rae, Nycole Turmel

     I'll just close by saying, if you agree with these sentiments, feel free to share this blog with the world. Right now I'm having a sick to my stomach break.