Happy Holidays, all

Fucking heartbreaking.

Caution: extreme brutality.

Scritp is Arabic, but the horror captured speaks in universal language.

I can’t find words right now for this brutality inEgypt.  How many of us, soft as we are, raised in a democratic country, would show such courage if our rights were threatened?

This is why we need to value and guard what we have and give what support we can to those who are offering up their lives for principles we hold dear.

Another word or two on Hitchens

Love him or hate him, it is impossible to ignore the manner in which he faced his death and the impact that has on people.

He didn't alter his basic views and beliefs on life and death as he faced his own, and he had the courage and commitment to his beliefs to speak openly of what he was dealing with and how he felt about his own end.

That gives strength to his arguments and should silence critics who say there is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.  But it won't.

What it will do is help more open minded people come to terms with the inevitability of death and how it is a natural part of life.  It helps those of us who do not believe in an afterlife prepare with some of our own eventual questions and fears concerning how we will meet our own end.

For this, I am personally grateful to the man.  We all die.  How we meet that end is something hopefully we can manage and lessen the pain of those we love who are left behind.

Understanding the inevitability of death and seeing someone like Hitchens meet his own with grace and honesty is one of his last gifts to us.  He didn't have to be so public.  He could have spent his final months privately with those closest to him, but he showed, through his last few months, that despite his abrasiveness, despite his harsh criticisms of our species, his drive was one of caring, not of spite.

One more bit of music, then goodbye.  But not forgotten.

Harper says oilsands critics spreading 'misinformation'

Naw…it’s just free speech, dude. 

And you can’t shut these guys up.

(graphic partial)

Harper's comments came in response to a question about Chiquita Brands, which announced Thursday that it would avoid using fuel from Alberta's oilsands.  The company, which sells hundreds of millions of dollars of fruit, juice and snacks around the world, said it has joined 13 other companies and one city in trying to reduce its carbon footprint.

I have a sudden craving for bananas.  Chiquita, in fact.

“lack of sense of inner self-restraint”

If you only read one article on Canada today, I hope you read this.

The University of Ottawa's Ralph Heintzman, who created and headed the federal Public Service Office of Values and Ethics, provides an important insight into what’s happening here: There is a “lack of sense of inner self-restraint on the part of the prime minister, a sense that it is some kind of war and therefore anything is legitimate, that it's quite acceptable for a prime minister to lie, for example, about how our parliamentary democracy works.”
Many good, direct, indisputable examples to support Caplan's arguments.  Read them for yourself.

Caplan tells us what we face, and why.  What we need to add to this is how we can fight this very hostile takeover of our democracy and our identity.

As Caplan, Lawrence, and several other journalists have pointed out recently, the regular systems of keeping such a prime minister and his mouth pieces in check are not only helpless to stop the devastation of Parliament and our institutions, those very systems serve as fodder to promote hate, confusion, and diversion as harper lies about them and re-shapes them into costly or commie gremlins in the minds of the less-than-informed.

If harper and his CONsorts are indeed treating their rule as a war against anything that doesn't promote their narrow ideology and goals (and I have no doubt this is the case), then the rest of Canada - the sane part - had better wake up to the fact that our own government is waging war on us and act accordingly.

I'm not suggesting we break the law.  I am saying we need to get far more creative, we need to be far more vocal, and we need to find legal ways of stopping harper's destructive acts and takeovers even if our efforts fail.  The efforts themselves will draw attention to the issues and to the fact that in many case, if not most, the majority of Canadians don't approve of his changes to our country and will not sit passively by.

The hell with politeness and verbal restraint.  In this, I'm not saying use profanities as a point (although it took one little potty word to finally draw attention publicly to the CON's sick actions and words concerning banning delegates from Durban), but I am saying that any rules - informal or not - of respect for government simply because it is government do not apply.  In a state of war, we aren't expected to say please or thank you as our front doors are being kicked in.

But our counter attacks should be fact-based, and I am proud to say that's not a problem for those currently expressing their outrage against this government.  Hell, harper gives us enough ammunition without having to invent a thing.

Better networking, coordinated efforts, high profile petitions to the GG, more involvement in well organized groups that offer resistance...what else?

One thing is certain: we can't afford to sit back passively with the excuse that this takeover is just to big to take on.  Every voice silenced gives a bigger platform for the hostile CONs and their mindless followers.  And dammit, really rip into those who say all political parties are corrupt, so why bother getting involved?

Christopher Hitchens - a life well lived

Christopher Hitchens

13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011

You will be greatly missed.

Happy Anniversary, harper and CONstones!!!!!!!!!!!!

Five years in a row!

Fucking awesome!

The CONstones...doing their bit on the World Stage™ to drive climate change along.

Tonight's tunes go out to the fine public servants at Environment Canada

The ones who are doing their job, telling the truth, not bending to political masters:

Canada lacks "credible scientific information" to support its claims that oilsands development is environmentally responsible, putting the industry's economic future in jeopardy, says newly-released briefing material prepared for Environment Minister Peter Kent and senior management in his department.

..."Getting the science right is important," said the Environment Canada document. "We are committed to managing the environment in the oilsands based on science, not politics or PR."

Keep serving the public, folks.  Thanks!

Hey MacKay! "It is not a kind of speech that should begin to be chilled at this point."

Because it could be true.  And Van Loan says spreading rumours is “part of normal discourse” and “ is not a kind of speech that should begin to be chilled at this point." 

So really, MacKay, check with Van Loan before mouthing off something like this -

“Minister MacKay has had his character and personal reputation attacked,” spokesman Jay Paxton said. “Minister MacKay is looking into legal options against those who have attacked his integrity.”

But posturing and mouthing off is probably all MacKay is doing.  You know, that whole wronged thing linked to the tough pseudo stolen military image he’s been trying to adopt.  There’s more than enough proof to indicate he has been lying and abusing resources and public funds.  Including treating DND like his personal research team. 


Oh...and about your integrity, Airshow?  No one can attack something that doesn't exist.

A CON broke the law. Imagine that.

A Federal Court judge has declared that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz broke the law when he introduced a bill to remove the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly without consulting the CWB or holding a Prairie farm plebiscite on the issue.

So will the law-and-order party abide by the Federal Court’s ruling?  Sounds pretty serious.  I’d say snubbing your nose at such a declaration would show monumental disregard for the law, wouldn’t you?

"We will be appealing," said Finley.  She did say "of course we will abide by the law" but Rae said he didn’t know what that means.

Well, she isn’t the Agriculture Minister, so maybe she got the wrong speaking notes and is really referring to harper’s strict rules surrounding his christmas party.  Although it will be a challenge for Finley to be appealing under any circumstances. 

Over to Ritz, the Listeriosis Minister -

Ritz confirmed the intention to appeal in a news release saying the Harper government will continue to push forward with its legislation "despite a disappointing ruling" by the Federal Court.    "Farmers and our government are disappointed by the court’s decision today," said Ritz. "We will appeal this decision as we are convinced that Parliament has the right to end the single desk monopoly."

Hold on a sec.  “Our government?”  That would be all MPs, right? All those elected representatives who speak on behalf of their constituents all across Canada?    So “our government” includes these guys -

NDP and Liberal MPs say the wheat board is important for keeping prices fair for farmers, and fear large agribusinesses will have an upper hand in dealing with farmers if the wheat board loses its monopoly. 

How about farmers?

Wheat producers gave a strong mandate for keeping the single-desk after results for the Canadian Wheat Board Producer Plebiscite were announced .

Oh.  So Ritz is...lying?  Broke the law and lied?

What did the Federal judge actually say (before we hear a bastardized version from the CONs)? (emphasis mine)

In his ruling Campbell wrote: "Generally speaking, when advancing a significant change to an established management scheme, the failure to provide a meaningful opportunity for dissenting voices to be heard and accommodated forces resort to legal means to have them heard….Had a meaningful consultative process been engage to find a solution which meets the concerns of the majority, the present legal action might not have been necessary."

Oh my...meet concerns of the majority, listen to dissenting voices...that's a tough horse for harper to ride.

Chairman Oberg and director Wells, both of CWB appear Thursday morning before a Senate committee to talk about Bill C-18.

Oberg said the court ruling brings additional impetus for senators to reject the Bill.

Faites vos jeux, mes amis.  Harper hates losing and he and his CONsorts have been gunning for the Wheat Board for a long time, but considering the really bad press they’ve all been getting relating to their arrogance and disdain for democratic process, not respecting the Court’s ruling on this would be...bad.

But then, it is stevie, and he seems to think “The State, it is I.” (graphic)

Good for them. No more giving up their autonomy.

The third-party manager sent by the federal government to handle the desperate housing situation in Attawapiskat in northern Ontario has been asked by the band to leave, CBC News has confirmed.

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence told CBC News that she had informed the band manager of her decision.  "I advised my band manager I don't want them in my community … doesn't work for our community … we should focus on the crisis, not on other things," she said.

Spence is right, of course.  The whole third party thing is just another way for the government to dodge accountability for their abysmal  treatment of First Nations, and a transparent move toward taking away any self rule Aboriginals have left.  Back to the residential school thinking - actually, that attitude never changed.  First Nations people are sub-human, child-like, and the Great White Man has to manage everything for them from how they live, how they manage their communities, how they raise their children, and push through the plan they never gave up: full integration until First Nations no longer exist as distinct.  Then they can be just another minority to be treated like crap.

Spence should stand her ground, not just for her group, but for Native communities all across Canada.  If she gives in, this third party thing will be policy.  Third party being someone more concerned with money than with culture, quality of life, the absolute need for self-determination among First Nations in order for them to survive as a people and live with dignity.

How can a non-native, city-dwelling accountant possibly understand what land - not just any land, but land by which Aboriginals mark their distinct band identity - means to the Natives he is sent to "manage?"  How can he possibly understand their needs?  And what will be taken away from these people if they are told yet again that an outsider is more fit to make such decisions for them than they are?

Marion (the third party accountant) remains in full control the community's funding from Aboriginal Affairs and hopes to work with the community to address urgent needs, the statement added.  "It is extremely worrying that the chief and council are not open to outside assistance. Minister Duncan met with Chief Theresa Spence and Grand Chief Stan Louttit and reiterated that our government's priority is to ensure that residents of Attawapiskat have access to safe, warm, and dry shelter."

See the trickery already? "It is extremely worrying that the chief and council are not open to outside assistance."  It's not assistance they are not open to, but outright control of their lives.  The government and Marion know this, and their twisting of words to smear Natives is proof that they will not treat them with respect or consider their needs as a distinct people.

There is more than a single community at risk, here.  This is a stand-off, a line in the sand that if the government is allowed to cross will make the appalling treatment of First Nations even worse.  They will lose even who they are.

Yeah? So is Kim Jong Il.

Harper among the immortals
 
What a childish narcissist.

Every oncein a while, a mysterious Conservative emails a bunch of people to remind them that Stephen Harper is about to pass another prime minister in the longevity stakes. I got onto the recipient list when Harper passed Alexander Mackenzie in the autumn of 2010. Since then he’s passed Lester Pearson and R.B. Bennett and now he has John Diefenbaker in his sights.

Anonymous email to remind people how super-duper-phenomenal fatso is?  How pathetically self-important in that immature Look-at-me! way.  PMSHithead just doesn’t feel alive unless people are noticing him, does he?

Now, obviously longevity isn’t a sufficient condition of prime ministerial significance…But it should be clear by now that longevity is a necessary condition for any prime minister who wants to carry weight in the history books. Harper has already had an influence on Canada’s political culture, its foreign policy, on the practice of federalism and the evolution of social policy. Now he can start to make a difference comparable to anything Pearson and Diefenbaker made. If he wants. Harper’s (first?) coveted majority is already seven months old.

Sure, Paul Wells.  Because it’s all about steve being noticed.  Like Kim Jong Il, like Muammar Gaddafi, like Saddam Hussein, like the fucking Marquis De Sade.  Because that’s all we’ll get from a self-obsessed malignant narcissist who refuses to consider anyone’s opinions or expertise than his own, a self-serving power freak who holds onto power by dividing and tearing down anything his paranoid mind thinks is his enemy.  And when you are the only creature in the universe who really matters, everyone and everything is a potential enemy.  Even your most loyal supporters.

If they were still alive, he could ask Idi Amin, or Pol Pot, or Mussolini.  Or any mafia head.

"...it is hypocritical to hold principles and apply them only when convenient."

That's right. It is.

The quote in the title is from Peter Goldring's website.  In that particular post, Goldring expresses his opposition to proposed legislation changes that would allow police to screen all drivers with roadside breathalyzer tests, whether or not officers suspected the drivers had been drinking.

Itis safe to say everyone is opposed to drunk driving – but there are civil liberty issues involved. There is the presumption of innocence and the right to not self incriminate. That may seem odious when we’re talking about a crime such as drunk driving, but it is hypocritical to hold principles and apply them only when convenient.  

Yet Peter, being a tough-on-crime CON is a real law-and-order guy, right?  He assures us he is (emphasis mine):

Whenthe Conservatives came to power in January of 2006 we committed to change things. In our very first Speech from the Throne we said, "This Government will tackle crime...And we have.

Over the past 5 years we have passed 18 laws (12 Justice, 6 Public Safety) that have toughened the rules and made our communities safer. Now we have tougher laws that crack down on any crimes involving guns, gangs, violent or repeat offenders, sex offenders, impaired driving and car thieves.

Well, maybe not everyone is opposed to drunk driving - 

Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring has voluntarily resigned from caucus after being charged with failing to provide a breath sample following a weekend fundraising event.

Without the breath sample, the cops may not be able to prove the guy was over the legal limit - if he was, and I guess that's why he refused.  Now he can claim he simply refused on principle, but if that had been the case, why not state so then and there, and why no comment even now? 

Sounds like kicking principles to the curb for convenience to me.