Is this the Canada we want?

The Harper government is planning a Taj Mahal complex for the Defense Department's spies, complete with a hockey rink, basketball and volleyball courts and a bank in a secure facility on Ogilvie Road, says the head of the department's largest union.

While the original Taj Mahal was build as a symbol of eternal love,  Harper’s is more of a big fuck-you to Canadians.

We are subject to the dire warnings of the ever frowning Finance Minister, Deficit Jim, day after day.  You know, the guy who gave Canada the biggest deficit in Canadian history.  As Flaherty warns us faceless Canadians that we need to tighten our belts, it being our duty and all, and as Stockwell (I-pinned-a-Loonie-on-my-lapel-to-show-my-respect-for-taxpayers) Day announces that DND’s budget must be cut by 1 billion, the very same harper government decides to build this monstrous testament to the crazy kill-em-all-let-god-sort-em-out path he wants to take Canada down.

The right calls lefties crazy conspiracy theorists, but here’s their Great Leader elevating spies to that elite level he constantly spits vitriol at and using much needed tax dollars to do it as he cuts, slashes, butchers the rest of the public service and social programs for Canadians.

Fuck human rights, fuck the poor, fuck minorities, women, aboriginals.  And in particular, fuck free speech.  It will just get in the way of the spies work.

As appalling as the utter hypocrisy of spending money on a lavish centre for spies - complete with a sports complex, a hockey rink with a zambone, volley ball courts, walking trails, and of yes, a large fireplace, what such spending indicates is far worse.

Harper cut daycare.  Bashed the hell out of it.  Tried to make it sound anti-democratic by labeling it as a government nanny.  But when it comes to spies, publicly funded daycare is just okey-dokey fine.  And those elitists who ride bikes?  Doesn’t apply to spies.  Lots of bike racks for them planned.

And that lazy, over-paid public service really shouldn’t have low rate parking.  Hell no, they should pay full price!  Unless you’re a spy in training, that is, then it’s free.

So what is harper telling us here.  He’s saying that there are two types of Canadians - the ones he decides deserve extra special treatment, and the rest of us who just need to tighten our belts, shut the fuck up, pay our taxes, and never, ever criticize his rule or question how our tax dollars are spent.

That harper decides to pamper this particular group with our tax dollars at a time when all departments are being hit with major cuts tells us what he thinks is important.  Not creating jobs, not fighting poverty, not education, not the arts which are the lifeblood of a nation, not aid, not women, not children...

No, what’s important to him is investing more money into paranoia.  Investing into information gathering, population control, and mostly, spreading fear so that we taxpayers are more easy to control and bleed for every last dollar.

Also, MacKay has noted that the government would move forward with the project through a public-private partnership but MacLennan said it is unclear what role private firms will play.  Plenary did not respond to a request for comment. MacKay's office referred questions to CSE, which did not respond...MacLennan questioned the wisdom of employees of a private corporation having access to CSE buildings.

Yeah, I question that wisdom as well, and not being able to get CSE to respond to questions makes me more than a little twitchy.  Are we going to rent out spy services to private companies now?

This obscenity of harper’s has to be stopped, and we, those faceless Canadians he has such contempt for are the only ones who can do it.

We need to become far, far more vocal in pointing out where he’s taking Canada, and we need to put a hell of a lot more pressure on all other parties to take this son-of-a-bitch down before he makes Canada a target for hatred and terrorism by his policies, before he guts our laws and rights and social programs so badly that it will take decades to recover, and before he gets such a strangle-hold on our right to protest that we who protest will be the ones filling his new prisons.

The man is insane.  His idea of reality is so out there, so cold-war 50s that it’s difficult for normal people to grasp how dangerous he is. 

If you need anything more to convince you: he’s building this huge spy centre on Ogilvie Road???!!

Canada is on track!

Wow!  So maybe there is something to this stay-the-course stuff.  Let’s see...

Oh...I see...

Canada is on track to dramatically miss its 2012 Kyoto target of cutting GHGs by 6 per cent below 1990 levels.

So what is Canada doing about this?

You know how some chicks only hang around with unattractive women thinking they will look better by contrast?  Or how the alcoholic asshole tries to get everyone else drunk thinking he won’t look so bad if everyone is acting like an asshole?

Canada has reportedly aligned itself with Russia and Japan to block the extension of the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012...The move by the Harper government has sparked criticism from environmentalists and opposition politicians, who argue Canada is now holding back talks at a climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico.

Well, harper & co., you’re still an ugly chick, and you're still assholes.  And don’t think people haven’t noticed.

Canada won first, second, and third place in a 'Fossil of the Day' mock award ceremony in Cancun on Tuesday.  The awards were given by environmental groups to the country they believe has done the most to disrupt and undermine negotiations at the UN climate conference.

First place awarded for: killing the Climate Change Accountability Act.

Second place awarded for:  Federal efforts to gut climate change programs, including attacks on clean fuels policies in other countries, cuts to funding for Canada's climate science foundation, and the elimination of energy efficiency upgrades for homeowners.

Third place awarded for "the country making the least constructive contribution to the negotiations."

All this during the same couple of weeks that this comes out:

Climate change fans deep-burning fires in Alaska

Climate Change Could Cost 1 Million Lives A Year By 2030

Rise in flood claims tied to climate change

Now, over to our Minister of the Environment for some lies explanations:

Environment Minister John Baird said Sunday that U.S. regulations set to take effect on Jan. 2, 2011, simply wouldn’t work in Canada. “We just can’t because the permitting process with America . . . is so different than ours, we can’t have full-on harmonization like we can with auto (emissions’) standard,” he said.

Baird’s comments come despite the Harper government’s pledge to harmonize its regulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases with the United States.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

According to reports...global protests have managed to prevent the execution of Iran stoning case Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani as of now. However the threat of imminent execution remains.

So anyone who hasn't signed a petition or sent a letter...do so now.  It is helping.  This lady would have been dead a long time ago if it were not for international pressure. 

Last week, Laureen Harper made another public plea for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtian's life.


The voice of a Prime Minister's wife carries more weight than average citizens', I'm sure, so it's terrific that she has done this.

However, her protest and that of other Canadians would be taken more seriously if our current government had greater integrity in addressing national and international issues concerning unfair sentencing and the death penalty.

Canada has actively opposed the death penalty in recent decades, refusing extradition requests to the U.S. unless there are assurances the U.S. prosecutors won't seek the death penalty. The federal government has also, until recently, established a tradition of requesting clemency for Canadians sentenced to death abroad.

In late 2007, however, Stephen Harper's Conservative government indicated a change in procedure. Then public safety minister Stockwell Day stated Canada would "not actively pursue" the return of Canadians facing the death sentence "who have been tried in a democratic country that supports rule of law."

The Tories' decision drew harsh words from Amnesty International, which accused Canada of softening its opposition to capital punishment.

Iran considers itself a democratic country and can easily throw Canadian complaints back in our face considering we will not even oppose the death penalty for Canadians abroad.  We should be fighting for people like Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, but in order to be taken seriously, in order for other countries to listen to us, we need to apply our own laws fairly, equally, and with absolute resolve.

Is there some other Canada I don’t know about?

As CAPP was working out the final details for a nation wide protest against Harper proroguing Parliament and his undermining of democracy, the Big Guy himself was patting himself on the back in a self-congratulatory speech concerning his four years in power.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, speaking to his caucus on Parliament Hill, says "Canada is safer, stronger and better off" after four years of Conservative rule.

Really?...really?

That man needs to start reading Canadian news.  http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/714708--if-the-news-is-canadian-harper-s-not-watching

"The classic test, as set out by Ronald Reagan, is are you better off four years later?" Scott Reid, former prime minister Paul Martin's communications director, told Canwest News earlier this week. "Here's the verdict: We're less prosperous, less respected, less fair and we're less democratic. That's Stephen Harper's record."

I’ve been kind of picking up on the same things myself.

Unemployment:

December 2005: 6.5
December 2009: 8.5

   
Deficit and spending:

Harper & Co. Quickly ate up a 12 billion surplus left by Paul Martin.  Steve then delivered us a deficit he promised would never occur, earning Flaherty the name of  Deficit Jim.

His budgets have featured steep spending boosts averaging roughly 6% per year, a surge described as "reckless" by the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation. (Oct.2008)

As the rest of the world and most economists agreed we were headed into a recession, Harper denied this and failed to prepare accordingly.  We now face years of massive deficits.

The federal government is expected to run a deficit of $55.9-billion this fiscal year, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said that could be reduced to $5.2-billion by 2014-05. However, parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page has recently said the Canadian government could be facing a “structural deficit” of almost $19-billion at around that time as an aging population leads to a shrinking labour force and diminished economic potential.

Freedom of press:

Took a dive under Harper.

Human rights:

Poverty - Canada's backsliding on indigenous rights has upset its chance for global leadership on poverty and human rights, says Amnesty International secretary general Irene Khan.  By refusing to sign the UN's declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and failing to close the poverty gap between aboriginal communities and the rest of Canada, Khan said it will be difficult for the Harper government to gain a moral edge when it hosts the landmark G8 and G20 summits at Huntsville next year.

Women’ rights - While most coverage and concern was focused on the SWC regional office closures, the words "equality," "advocacy," and "action" were quietly removed from the Terms and Conditions of the SWC mandate, and from various SWC documents, such as their website (a chilling process of erasure that attempts to change history -- borrowed directly from the Bush administration’s ‘handling’ of women’s organizations in the US).  Oda also eliminated virtually all funding for research on women and women’s issues and made it impossible for women’s organizations involved in advocating or lobbying governments to be eligible for SWC money.

Child soldiers -   Back in 2002, Canada signed on to an international treaty aimed at rehabilitating child soldiers...Canadian troops in Kandahar indeed capture child fighters, only to turn them over to Afghan security forces for what is usually a brutal interrogation.

That, he says, is a clear violation of Canada's international obligations and – depending on how the children are treated by the Afghans – almost certainly a crime under Canadian law..."Canada was once at the top of the heap in this regard," says Attaran. "Now we're keeping company with those at the bottom."

The Omar Khadr case shows just how poorly Harper has performed when it comes to rights of child soldiers.

Death penalty - Canada has actively opposed the death penalty in recent decades, refusing extradition requests to the U.S. unless there are assurances the U.S. prosecutors won't seek the death penalty...In late 2007, however, Stephen Harper's Conservative government indicated a change in procedure.

Then public safety minister Stockwell Day stated Canada would "not actively pursue" the return of Canadians facing the death sentence "who have been tried in a democratic country that supports rule of law."...The Tories' decision drew harsh words from Amnesty International, which accused Canada of softening its opposition to capital punishment.

Environment:

Do I really need to explain this one?

Asbestos:

World Call of Conscience to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Stop Obstructing the Rotterdam Convention (asbestos)

Afghanistan:

"Quite frankly, we are never going to defeat the insurgency... “ - Harper

And his new position raises the obvious questions: If the Taliban can't be beaten, what are Canadian troops doing in Afghanistan? If the Taliban can't be beaten, why are our soldiers still dying? If the Taliban can't be beaten, why are Canada and its NATO allies encouraging the Afghan government to keep fighting a war that, according to Harper, it may be able to "manage" but can't possibly win?

Soldiers killed in Afghanistan:

Since 2002, 139 Canadian soldiers have been killed serving in the Afghanistan mission.  Four Canadian civilians have also been killed, including one diplomat, one journalist and two aid workers.

Changing the nature of our involvement in Afghanistan drastically increased the number of deaths among our military stationed in that country.

Under the Liberals - 2002-2005: 8  
Under Harper - 2006-Jan. 2010: 131

Pensions and retirement:

Harper not only fails to protect seniors and their pensions, he threatens them further.

Geneva conventions and torture:

Orders from former Canadian Forces chief of defence staff Rick Hillier and the federal Cabinet hindered Canadian troops as they were attempting to process Afghanistan detainees in compliance with international war law and likely contributed to severe detention conditions at the military police compound in Kandahar, previously unreleased documents indicate.

Accountability and transparency:

Information Commissioner Robert Marleau said Thursday the grip on federal files is tightening, largely because of the Conservative government's "communications stranglehold" on the bureaucracy.  "There's less information being released by government than ever before. And that's alarming."

Democracy:

Even the venerable Economist magazine, which normally hovers above the fray of Canadian politics, has condemned the move as a clumsy attempt to muzzle the sound and fury of parliamentary debate..."It's yet another step in a pattern of leadership and governance by Prime Minister Harper that is in an authoritarian direction," said Peter Russell, a constitutional scholar at the University of Toronto. "He seems to want to minimize his exposure to critical review. And I think that's a very dangerous thing."

There are many more items that could be added to the list showing that the real Canada is certainly not the one Harper boasted about in his speech.

Does he think simply making such a statement will convince the chattering classes, or has he isolated himself for so long, listening only to his own words echoed back from his compliant members that he actually believes it himself?

Harper gets high praise from convict

The great stars of Copenhagen were the Chinese and the Canadians...All Canadians should be proud of Stephen Harper. Of all the leaders of serious countries, he is the most conspicuously skeptical of this great eco-scam. This is Canada's finest foreign policy hour since Mackenzie King supported Charles de Gaulle's takeover of St. Pierre and Miquelon from Vichy at Christmas 1941, against the mindless opposition of the U.S. state department. - Conrad Black


mhmm...the great stars.  Well of course, that's pretty obvious from all the comments of the common folk and unwashed masses from all around the world.

Conrad the Con offers us a seasonal gift by imparting some of his lofty wisdom to the peasantry:


A s we say farewell to this rather dismal decade, which opened with Millennial celebrations of a New World Order and The End of History, and has been thoroughly disfigured by terrorism, economic stupidity, inept political leadership and untrammeled vulgarity of public tastes.

He should know about vulgarity.