If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

The reincarnation has not yet been given a name, but genetic traits show it to be a clone of this.

Yes, our old pal SPP.

It's Friday night and I'm knackered, so just a few words for now.  Alison has a good write-upp on it as does Mentarch, and if I recall correctly, the archives of Good Doctors Pale and Prole, Mentarch, Dr. Dawg, and jj have a fair bit on the SPP.

I can't remember where I read it, but just before the SPP got quiet, someone in the know said they were going quiet for awhile and would come back under a different name because the original one has too many negative connotations.

In other words, the SPP never went away nor disbanded.  It has been quietly working away and planning it's big unveiling.  Well, partial unveiling, it seems since the agreement has to be sold to Canadians which is scum-bag politico-speak for bull-shit their way into our compliance.

And part of that sales pitch is to make us so afraid of terrorists and attacks from hostile countries that we will come to believe we need this "perimeter security" around all of North America.

But setting that perimeter around the US, Mexico, and Canada will make us bigger targets since we will be taking on US security issues.

Then there's the loss of privacy and civil rights.

And let's not forget the lowest common denominator in quality of goods and in product safety.

Oh, and wages taking a huge dive as barriers are softened allowing cheap, temp labour to cross borders.

And "shared" resources such as water...

More tomorrow.  Or less for Canadians, I should say.

Well, it's Friday evening and those pricks won't be doing much tonight, so have a good weekend!

I have a life, dammit!

There's so much going on in the news it's hard to keep up the bitching reading and writing and still find time to remember my dog's name, let alone play with him.

Could narrow my focus, maybe just blog about Gladys Marie Smith.  And only post on Her First Biscuits.

Maybe not.

But that line of thought brings me to say thank you, all of you terrific bloggers out there who blog day after day through all the ups and downs.  Should also say thanks to the families and friends of bloggers as well because I know how much mine put up with.

"Everything is a cabinet confidence because they say it's a cabinet confidence. It's become that silly."

- Liberal MP John McKay

The Government Operations and Estimates Committee is supposed to oversee spending and provide transparency and accountability in reference to government spending - in particular estimates on future spending.

Well, it's pretty damn hard to review future spending if even basic information is witheld.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/todays-paper/Secrecy+over+federal+cuts+under+fire/3956482/story.html

Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page says departments can't manage the Harper government's three-year freeze on their operating budgets without cutting services to Canadians. But what those cuts are and how jobs or services will be affected remain cabinet secrets. Page, dispatched by MPs on the government operations committee in October to help them get a handle on the impact of the operating freeze, came back empty-handed. The government won't tell him details and has refused his requests for any information citing cabinet secrecy.

Page...argues the blocking of information is getting so out of hand that someone should be monitoring what's being refused to ensure they really are cabinet confidences.

The committee began its study on the freeze last April and made similar requests for basic information, such as how savings would be made, the risks of such reductions and whether they were one-time or ongoing cuts. The committee finally received a reply last week and was refused all information.

As John McKay points out, voting against the estimates could trigger an election, but with the cabinet secrecy trick, how can they know what they are supporting or voting down?

No kidding.  And how can Canadians know what they are supporting in an election as well if they aren't told what their tax dollars will be spent on, and what services, ones they have come to rely on, will cease to exist?

All Canadians need to put pressure on the opposition parties so that they don't give into this political blackmail.  If it leads to an election, fine.  Make it clear that it was brought on by the CON's denial of Canadians' right to know the basics of spending and cuts to programs and services.

Dalton, I like your brother, but you're a real asshole

Premier Dalton McGuinty’s officials plotted to keep the G20 law secret weeks before the Star revealed that Toronto police believed they had the power to arrest anyone near the summit site.

This is not something that should be kept secret. 

And you, Vic Vicious , you get liar added to asshole for trying to play Lady Macbeth.  We know who really was the force behind the act.

The feds co-ordinated security and funded it.

"I certainly wasn't aware of the concerns that were being raised with the bill." - Vic Vicious

"You're talking about the regulation that the McGuinty government passed? It was sometime after the G8/G20 event," Toews told reporters Wednesday when asked about when he learned of Ontario's passing changes to the Public Works Protection Act. That statement contradicts at least one of the findings of Marin, whose report suggests the RCMP and Toews's department did know about the Toronto police request to have the controversial regulation passed.

Hell, Vicious, we ordinary, Tim drinkin' and Starbuck sipping Canadians knew about it before the event.  Would you like me to get you a subscription to the Citizen?  Recommend a few blogs?

And there's this bit of damning evidence:

Email response to CBC from RCMP Sgt. Julie Gagnon:

Q: When was the RCMP made aware of the PWPA?

A: A few months before the actual event, the RCMP was made aware that TPS [Toronto Police Service] was considering using the PWPA however; the RCMP was not consulted on if TPS would use the PWPA during the Summits.



But hey - you fuckers needed that dry run for the reincarnated SPP, right?

And what good name is that, Chuck?

Rev. McVety said he was told Thursday by CTS that his show, Word TV, would be temporarily pulled from the air. "My good name has been impugned by this report."

You get to keep your fish-cult name,  the one you proudly wear  for your "malevolent, insidious and conspiratorial purpose" to the activities of homosexuals.

This announcement brings a lot of joy to many.  And that's what your cult is all aout, right?

About that Stevie Wanker performance

...and his HUGE EGO. I have only one thing to say about this.




There’s something creepy as hell about seeing those flat dead eyes as he engages in an activity that is emotion rich for most people.  Creepy as hell.

She only violated the integrity of her office to protect the integrity of her office

Leave Christiane aloooooooooooooone!

We can now see why Sean Bruyea got nowhere with the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, Christiane Ouimet.  Mr. Bruyea filed a complaint with PSIC concerning violations to his right to privacy in which his personal records were passed around to many people in an effort to discredit him.

Ouimet tossed his complaint out despite a massive amount of proof in his favour.

Today, AG Sheila Fraser tabled her investigation of the PSI commish and we learn why Ouimet considered what was done to Bruyea as no biggie:

19. We found that the Commissioner:

disclosed personal information about the complainant to his previous employer, to senior officials in government, and to the private sector security consultant;

requested access to the complainant’s personnel file from his previous employer in order to use this information in a security investigation that targeted the complainant and three other former PSIC employees;

prepared and circulated information about the complainant within PSIC, which included leading the preparation of four binders comprising 96 documents and totalling more than 375 pages of information about him, circulating at least 50 emails about him, and involving at least 6 of her staff in these activities; and

did not meet her obligations under the Treasury Board’s Policy on Privacy Protection and under the Privacy Act, in responding to the requests made by the complainant to access his personal information in PSIC’s possession.

So the person in charge of making sure others in positions of authority in the public sector act with integrity is guilty of massive violations herself.

The AG’s report also concluded that Ouimet was generally abusive to staff – swearing at them, threatening their jobs, causing them fear.

I don’t agree with trivial lawsuits.  What this public servant has done is far from trivial and every person affected by her should sue her ass.  The public has been paying her salary for the past 25 years and she more than failed the public.  People like her have no social conscience to appeal to.  Lawsuits, they understand.

Ouimet’s explanation?

21. The Commissioner told us that she acted in good faith at all times and intended no prejudice toward anyone. The Commissioner told us that she had acted to protect the reputation of her Office and on the advice that she received from PSIC’s Departmental Audit Committee.

It would have been better not to have a commissioner because those with complaints would have gone elsewhere for help.  This piece of crap actually served as a barrier to legitimate complaints.  She should not be allowed to simply resign and walk away (with severance pay and benefits, I’m sure).

The AG’s report cleared up some questions, but there’s still at least one huge one that needs to be answered.  Was Ouimet following someone else’s instructions or is she simply independently vile, vicious, duplicitous?

I doubt she’ll ever tell.  If she turns up on some CON friendly board down the road, though, we’ll have our answer.

Queen of soul

wishing Aretha a full and speedy recovery
Not my favourite song by the Lady, but I love how she looks in this clip.  Beautiful, happy, just thrilled to be there, with her whole life ahead of her.

no title

I love this song.  For you, jj.

The comedic stylings of harper's comedy troupe continue

Like I said.

When asked a serious question about whether Canadians will have to make some sacrifices following the next budget, Deficit Jim gave a thoughtful, serious answer that shows how much respect he has for Canadians:

"It means that not every wish gets fulfilled. I'm not Santa Claus. I'm, at best, a mere elf."
 

Oh, don't sell yourself short, Jimbo.  You are at the very least  a prestigious elf with a great deal of immunity to your own rules.

So...why are we there?

the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a well-connected Washington DC think tank, released a report on Afghanistan titled, Responsible Transition. The report lays out a strategy for the United States to lessen its investment in Afghanistan while still securing America’s interests in the region.

Remind me, 'cause I don't see a damn thing about democracy, or women and children in that.

The committee of amateur comedy, racism, hate and misinformation

You would think that if a Committee is serious about studying an issue, they would get specialists with factual knowledge of that issue to testify.

Not anymore.  Not in this new Parliament that appeals to the stupid, the shallow, the viewers of American Idol and other great, intellectual programs.

No, now Committees appear to be in the entertainment industry as well.  Might be starting their own version of That's Incredible!  Guests need not be informed or specialists.  In fact, that's discouraged because all that sciency stuff and all those facts are, well, just plain boring!


Levant...was invited to speak to the Natural Resources Committee while MPs study the future of Canada's lucrative yet controversial industry.

Of course.  Wouldn't a racist big mouth who has been sued numerous times for spreading lies, a lawyer of some kind who has nothing to do with earth sciences be top pick for your panel on the pros and cons of developing the oil sands? 

Oh, right.  Biggest qualifier to appear as a guest on harper's new and ever-so-modern  reality tv Parliament show is that the guest must agree with the programmer's conclusions ahead of time and all answers must help support that conclusion.

Levant's valuable contribution to the Committee:

"I don't know what God was thinking when he was handing out oil, but he gave it to all the world's bastards - Saudi Arabia, Iran Venezuela, Nigeria."

How can you not put someone who says such things on National, public funded TV?

A few of his favourite things

Goodnight, Bruce

A few of his favourite things:

We must trustthe fact that we live in a world of differences that although it presents challenges to our fears and desires, it also offers us the chance to grow through nothing more than the most beautiful gift humanity has to offer: Our own diversity.

Let’s just takeone day out of the year and appreciate the privileged lives we have. I know I’m taking the time to figure out how this privilege can be extended to more people’s lives without preaching, without moralizing, and without expectations.

Rue McClanahan: I loved her, saucy, sexy, gorgeous, and so much passion with a built in sense of humility too.

But I've started doing something I haven't done since I was in my twenties; renovating houses...
I get to do something I always loved, I get to talk to people all day, I can get dirty and by the end of the day I look like something I always fantasize about anyway, what more could a boy want?

No matter what anybody says, Canada, and by that, I mean us, is always at the forefront of human existence. Our capacity is still overwhelmed buy the stunning place we live in but this place makes us all better than we ever hoped to be. That’s the Grandness of Canada.

The only thing that sucks about living alone is you don’t get any Christmas leftovers, and that’s the best part.

 I’m apparently a slow learner and didn’t come out even to myself until I was 28. It was absolutely magical to see so many people celebrate and enjoy their Homosexuality. There was always some point where I would look around and burst into tears at how wonderful it was that we as people could openly celebrate and enjoy who we are. For me that’s the magic of Pride

An afternoon in a hammock put an awful lot of troubling shit into focus. If we could all allow ourselves to enjoy simple pleasures like that without getting all bent out of shape, the world would be a much different place.

One of the nice things about living where I do is I'm on one of the busiest streets in the downtown core of the biggest city in Canada and when you look at the front of my building you would never guess that being in my living room is like being in a treehouse. Makes this little Taurus happy.

It reminds me of Jimmy Sommerville’s “Small Town Boy” that gave so many so much inspiration and understanding of empathy.  This is why we sing with our souls.

Duckman!!!! -At the end of a decade that could honestly be described as the living example of a Chinese curse, be careful falling asleep with the DVD player running, you could wake up laughing your ass off to this, you'll need about 22 minutes to spare

I knew when I took the photo the place wouldn't be around much longer, so I'm glad I have it. I'm also glad the place went on its own terms with no interference from anyone.

If you want to see into your soul, which is nothing more than your own self-awareness, all you have to do is understand a few facts and look up. It's as beautiful as you are.
If you want a peek into my soul, watch this video: Science saved my soul 

Hallowe'en: If you're gay, this is like Christmas. I guess for some of us it's the one time we can do drag, any drag, and nobody questions it.

When we all have the same set of beliefs, we squander the very best thing we can offer each other, the very gift of our own absolute humanity, without that, talk of souls is utter nonsense.

The flawed and disorder CON tough on crime road

Must be really difficult being a CON.  As most people in Canada left of harper engage in personal struggles and moral debates on trying to do the greatest good and the least harm, those poor CONs, while devoid of such hampering traits as empathy engage in struggles of their own.

How do you please your rabid base when two rabid base issues conflict?

The Harper government has once again delayed implementation of regulations that police say they need to quickly trace guns used in crimes...This is the third time the Harper government has delayed the regulations, which were created by the Liberal government in 2004 and were supposed to go into effect in April of 2006.

The regulations are supposed to bring Canada into compliance with international protocols requiring import marks on all firearms. The objective is to shorten the time it takes to trace guns that cross national borders as part of normal commercial transactions.

And that's good for cops, good for public safety, and those appeal greatly to the rabid base, right?

Except -

The Canadian Shooting Sports Association sent out an alert last week noting that it has been "working tirelessly" to delay both sets of regulations. "They are both now delayed until December of 2012 which gives us more time to resolve the negative impacts these regulations will have and, since there is the strong possibility of an election within the next 12 months, have them rescinded with a majority government."

(photo)

If there's one thing the rabid base loves more than cops and empty talk about public safety, it's the right to carry weapons that can kill people without restriction and without cops having a damn thing to say about it.

Something nice

Had to drive through redneck county to the local store and it was snowing.

Seems some people like that kind of thing, snow.  On curvy, hilly roads that deer treat as their favourite meeting place.

Anyway, it is pretty when viewed from inside a warm, 4X4.

As I came around a curve, I saw an elderly couple walking leisurely along the side of the road.  They were still walking a half hour later as I slipped and swerved headed back.

Seeing two people who had survived that long simply walking together in the snow on a Sunday after noon was...lovely.  Nice. 

Two people just enjoying the moment, not afraid, not pissed off, just taking pleasure in the simple act of walking in the country side by side.

It's those quiet details that give me such a passion for our world.

Should just put this story on a loop

Call it Flaherty fucks up again


Last night Mr. Flaherty promised that the government was “on track” to balance the federal budget by 2015. Today, he walked away from that commitment, saying it could take longer.

But with the Cons, a good defense is always a smear offense:

Mr. Flaherty also attacked the work of Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page. Last month, Mr. Page released a report showing there was an 85% chance that the Conservative government would not meet its commitment to balance the budget by 2015.

Jesus christ, Jimbo!  go get a job with a traveling carnival!

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.

He's been everywhere, man, he's been everywhere

For 30 days Julian Fantino held his tongue, campaigning as the Conservative candidate in the suburban Toronto riding of Vaughan

Actually, harper tied your tongue in a knot, fantino.  But go on...

He had vowed to take the high road during his campaign

Yeah, so high it was outside Earth’s atmosphere...

At 68 years of age, Mr. Fantino now finds himself a rookie MP and will be sitting in the Commons across from the likes of Justin Trudeau, Michael Ignatieff and the rest of the Liberal crew who, he says, made his life miserable.

Boo-fucking hoo...

Cue in the tough guy -

He asserts the Liberals were “desperate” but that he would rather have “faced dangerous people with loaded guns than some of the nonsense” during the campaign.

Because he’s manly, no doubt. 

But he has been taking notes from the CON playbook -

“ I call it the Hitler Theory. You tell a lie often enough you hope that some people will believe it."

(Repeat after me: evul coalition, eul coalition, evul coalition...I believe in me and reject the fearmongering and risky Michael Ignatieff coalition)
(Warning - some people may find the lyrics offensive - but appropriate)

(50% faster than original version) 
“I’ve been as many as 21 days in the witness box in court, being cross-examined by the best lawyers in town. There is no peek-a-boo. ... It was a character assassination.”

So fucking what.

I think O.J. Simpson has you beat.

“You know what, here’s me with 42 years of working night shifts and facing people with loaded guns and dealing with murderers and rapists ... and I get a lecture from a newbie. C’mon.”

So fucking what.

You’re on Parliament’s turf now and yes, the House has become a free-for-all shame but on the Hill, dodging a bullet is a metaphor and you have yet to learn new skills.  Not going to run into a whole lot of murderers and rapists there.

Fantino, on the Hill, you are the newbie.

You seem so stuck on your past career that I doubt you will be open to learning the skills necessary to take on experienced politicians.

You CONs like slogans.  Try this one:

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Who is this lefty? Why is he writing for the Post?

Wants to tax the wealthy in order to reduce poverty and income disparities -

Persevering readers will recall that I have plumped for a modest and self-liquidating wealth tax that would go to poverty-reduction projects that could be devised and administered by the taxpayer, and regulated in the same manner as charities. This would put the most agile financial minds behind poverty reduction and give the wealthiest an interest in eradicating poverty. It would also make at least a modest start on income disparities, which should be attacked mainly by lifting the lowest, rather than tearing down the high earners.

Wants to hug-a-thug and turn the Canada into a country of pot-heads -

The government's harsh treatment of convicted criminals -- longer sentences, severe visiting restrictions, ending many vocational and recreational programs--is popular with the Conservative base. But it is a regressive and repulsive policy of the kind that past Liberal leaders would have opposed, as W.E. Gladstone raised Britain in the 1870s against the atrocities of Disraeli's Turkish ally. Michael Ignatieff should be proposing reduced custodial sentences for non-violent felons, complete decriminalization of marijuana offences, and more treatment and less incarceration for most drug offenders. He should be leading the world instead of being a mute spectator of a new custodial dark age.

Predicts the phoenix-like rise of the Liberal party -

The Liberals have never really had a malaise before, even when they lost badly. There was no malaise under William Blake, Lester Pearson or John Turner. All talk of a malaise will be banished when there is leadership that is both imaginative and faithful to the party's reforming traditions. It will come, either under this leader or his successor.

Oh my...it's Lord Tubby.  The reformed criminal.

Amazing what a little time in prison can do for some people.

Odes of hope

following Mentarch's lead

Have a great weekend.  It's still a heart-breaking beautiful world

incomparable Eva Cassidy


Eluveiti


more Eluveiti - 'cause they're so damn good (and pretty easy on the eyes)

Putting Wikileaks to work: Canada's presence in Afghanistan

It's not just gossip, as some would like us to believe in their efforts to trivialize Wikileaks.
 
And while Assange and Wikileaks are stories in and of themselves, they would create not a ripple if Wikileaks did not produce anything that could shake up governments.
 
So, time to look at what's coming out, what floats to the surface as a result, and what that information means.
 
An August 2009 report from Kabul complains that President Hamid Karzai and his attorney general “allowed dangerous individuals to go free or re-enter the battlefield without ever facing an Afghan court.”
 
So let me get this.  Our soldiers face death and maiming capturing insurgents to help Karzai keep power and instill democracy, then Karzai lets them go, as long as they grease his palm, the insurgents go back to the battlefield where our troops face danger again, catch some of them again, hand them over to Karzai who makes more money by letting them go back to the battlefield...


So why are we sending our own to fight in Afghanistan?  Karzai must love it.
 
"We must be prepared for confrontation with Karzai on this issue, he said, or risk losing credibility among our own population if we go along with a rigged election. He argued that a new generation of Afghans is working to run for Parliament and they are watching to see if the electoral changes will happen. 'We can't be seen to collude with it,' (Canadian ambassador Crosbie) said.
 
Right.  Canadians may start questioning why we send our soldiers to face death propping up a corrupt government, a government that stomps all over the democratic process Canadians are told our own are being sent there to instill and defend.


And if enough Canadians kick up a fuss, harper will have to, I don't know, extend the mission anyway, count on the Liberals to back him, and have both parties say that really, a vote isn't needed.  Could happen.

"given what we now know, is there any way that the Karzai regime can be our partner in any Afghan policy that you can support?"
 
Diplomat Perter Galbraith: "the problem is not whether the goals are right or not, it is that they are unachievable because the policy, the military surge depends on having an Afghan government that can provide honest administration and win the loyalty of the Afghan people."

Galbraith goes on to say that this isn't possible because the Afghan government is so corrupt.  He's been saying that for quite awhile, and Hillary Clinton denigrated him, pretty much calling him a liar.  That was until Wikileaks came out with documents that supported all Galbraith had said.
 

So time to really call every politician on the bull-shit about being there for democracy, being there for the women and children.  Propping up a supremely corrupt government that is willing to send our troops out to capture insurgents only to face them again while Karzai gets rich, propping up a government that undermines democracy, propping up a government that doesn't care about stability for its people - these are not things our soldiers should be sent to face death for.

Bring them home now.

Quit lying to us.

Thanks, Wikileaks.

Remember this?

Remember the outrage coming from the right?

Why isn't that picture considered a death threat towards the PM? Why isn't that picture the subject of a criminal investigation under our hate laws, to me that picture scream incitement to hate and perhaps violence? - Sassylassie (of course)

Why?  Because it was clearly a spoof picture, especially in the context of the contest which was where would harper rather be than attending climate change talks?  You think so?

So how do those same people feel about, oh, let's see...this:

"Well, I think Assange should be assassinated actually," Flanagan said to CBC host Evan Solomon. "I think Obama should put out a contract and maybe use a drone, or something."

Guys?...guys?...hello?...

Oh...there you are - 

marie from vancouver
Suck it up Assange - if you release classified documents than expect to be target.

herberthoovermeister
Hopefuly a nice mix of Uraninum and Plutonium will find its way into this Leftie parasites next meal!

More mindless labeling

"We believe that the prostitution trade is bad for society..." - Harper, Dec. 2, 2010

Care to expand on that, harperbot?  People trying to strike down the ridiculous law that says prostitution is legal, but keeping a common bawdy house or communicating for the purposes of prostitution are illegal can support their case by showing the incongruities of such a law, and the dangers this poses not only to prostitutes, but to other citizens as well.

Really.  We all know you personally believe prostitution is baaaaad, because robots can't do real sex.  They just don't get it, and updating your software to mechanically simulate sex could cause problems.  What if the program has a virus and it infects you?

We know your program is pretty limited, coming as it does from your invisible sky monster, who- as we legions of the damned are told often enough - works in mysterious ways and we cannot presume to know it's mind.

But while you may not question your program that mindlessly fires away with baaaad, baaaad, baaad, the rest of us who make our own decisions based on observation, learning, tempered somewhat by human emotions such as compassion and empathy, and topped off by a great deal of analysis and debate do question.  We like to understand why we are asked to ban some things and support others.

Weird, isn't it?

And who is this "we" you always go on about?  Is it a ultimate ruler with a direct line to a god thing?  We meaning you and Mr. Myth?  Because we know that with you there is an "I" in team and every other word and that it's the only letter that matters.  So when you say "we," I can't help but wonder.  Because I don't have a bot program to feed me simplistic certainties.

Carrying the Fire

Many of us bloggers ask ourselves why we blog...what’s the point...it’s all going to hell anyway...the bastards don’t appreciate it...if they are hell-bent on their own destruction, then why waste my time…

Then you get posts like this one  at Troy’s.

I love Troy’s Scribbles. It’s raw, honest to the point you feel like corrupting Troy just on the sheer principle of human frailty, and most of all, it is a constant reminder of the individual human beings that are the whole reason for us giving a damn about the big issues.

Reading Scribbles is like reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. The journal of a very difficult, at times seemingly hopeless personal journey within a larger world state which seems equally hopeless. Troy tells us of his own travels, of local politics, of the unending struggle of First Nations in a country that largely would like to relegate them to history – and a whitewashed history at that- and he writes of larger, universal issues, told with a raw style that often makes them appear bleak as well.

Oh, lovely, 900! Yeah, let’s just all go read more bleak shit!  Why should we?

Why? Because Troy is a Good Guy and he Carries The Fire.

I asked him awhile back how he manages to stop from exploding in a violent rage. To be honest, I couldn’t remember exactly what he told me because I didn’t entirely get it. I thought I did, but I never really understood until his post of December 1, 2010.

(excerpts)

Got mean and dirty, low down and nasty. Went and accused a brother of 'running off to the white man to solve our own problems'…

…I'd like to hide under my bed, now, but it's not raised off the floor. Anyhow, it's complete bullshit. The government doesn't care about First Nations. It's openly advancing a policy of assimilation. Thus, when I witness a brother using the government's propaganda concerning our people, leaders, and nations, I wanna explode.

I'd like to smack 'em one, but hurting my hand on someone's thick skull doesn't serve my agenda.

Insulting my brothers who have beliefs counter to mine doesn't serve my purpose, either.

Or does it? I just don't know.

Argh!

Such isn't what I wish to be, though. I want to be as my ancestor, Chief Kinbasket, who stopped a war with dialogue. I want to be as Chief Joseph whose appeal to the US people saved his people from a military massacre at the hands of the blue coats.

Anyway, I'm gonna try to be the change I wish to see in this world.

Reading that brief, informal post, I understood several things. Being decent, not losing your temper out of frustration, using words rather than a fist…these things aren’t done as a courtesy to your opponent, and they aren’t even done because of some ingrained sense of morality. They are a way of fighting all the crap that’s out there by preserving what’s best in our humanity.

By living it rather than preaching it, people who do this also show others what is good and worth preserving. It certainly shows me. If we give up and give in to negative ways of dealing with people and situations, we have already lost an important part of the battle against the undermining of those better aspect of humanity.

That there is sometimes a struggle in a person to act as they would like the rest of the world to act is even more commendable in those who persist in maintaining the best of what is human, because it shows us that being decent is a conscious thing, not an innate ability that a few fortunate people are born with. Seeing someone who has not had an easy time and who faces more hardship make the effort to be decent causes us to slow down and ask why they bother.

It gives us a chance to question and determine that there is value in being decent. There is value in carrying the fire.

So thanks, Troy.

Intimidation at DND?

Defence Department staff have been warned against using government computers to sift through secret documents released by WikiLeaks.  An email dubbed "Wikileaks Notice" in the subject line says military computers are "not to be used to visit the Wikileaks (sic) site or any other websites containing such information."

OK, no big deal.  All federal departments have restrictions, which vary from one to another.  But DND doesn’t stop with that warning, and their planned procedures and justifications are bizarre.

Canadian Forces IT staff "may monitor attempts to view this site's material and will report attempts to the affected chains of command," it adds.

But –

The website has not been blocked by the Defence Department and employees have not been directed to not talk about the documents, MacLean added.

Why not block it if they seriously don’t want staff going there, especially if the department has legitimate IT security concerns.  Would save IT hours of monitoring – unless they want to tag people who are interested in Wikileaks.

DND’s justification for not allowing staff to visit Wikileaks -

The department fears accessing the site could expose government computers to "malicious search engine poisoning attacks" and that third parties might "collect and exploit visitor data or deliver malicious software through downloaded files."

Again, that doesn’t sound unreasonable to a layperson like me until we find out that similar directives do not appear to be applied to all public servants or departments. If there was indeed a problem with Wikileaks connected to viruses or “poisoning attacks,” it’s very likely all federal departments would be taking measures to protect their systems.

More weirdness -

As some of the information may be classified, downloading it onto or viewing it from government computers could also be a breach of security policy, it says.

But if it’s available for anyone to view and bits and pieces keep appearing in the media, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

DND doesn’t stop at regulating staff while they are functioning as employees, either -

Staff were also warned to consider the similar risk of contamination to personal computers, smart phones and flash drives that access the site.

And the weirdness just goes on -

While they're not forbidden from accessing the material on their own time from home, MacLean said staff are discouraged from seeking out their own files.

And why would that be?  Why the threat note of warning not to seek out their own files?

Canadians paying murderers – and funding their defence in civil suits

But most Canadians don’t know they’re doing that. I’m sure nearly all would be horrified and would demand the government stop doing this, if they did know.

I have to say nearly all would be opposed, because clearly, at least 140 Canadians have no problem with this. In fact, they voted to make sure these murderers and their employers could continue murdering, torturing, and stealing unhindered by even the threat of losing some funding. A few more Canadians gave their support to the murders by avoiding the vote.

Bill C-300 would have helped put an end to Canadians unknowingly supporting murder, but instead, we will get to pay for their defense.

A $12-million civil lawsuit has been filed in an Ontario court against HudBay Minerals Inc. seeking accountability from the Toronto-based miner for the death of a community leader near its project in Guatemala…The legal action comes after a man was shot to death in September, 2009, during an attack near El Estor. The man was allegedly killed by security employed by HudBay.

HudBay is the successor to Canadian mining giant INCO which, in 1999, was found by the UN Truth Commission to be jointly responsible, along with the Guatemalan army, for the murder of anti-mining activist Pablo Bac – the father of the activist leader whose murder lies at the centre of this lawsuit.

Although there were several witnesses to the 2009 murder and they identified the security employee, HudBay claims it knows nothing about it.

Sure. Just like they know nothing about the actions of their security guards and this murder:

On 27 September last, the day before Pablo Bac junior was shot, Adolfo Ich, a community leader and teacher, was kidnapped, tortured and then murdered by security guards working for CGN/Hudbay. There are numerous eyewitness accounts of this. However, no charges have been brought against the culprits or their employers.

The people who are victimized by these publicly funded murderers are not so ignorant of Canada's complicity:

“The image that the [Mexican] population has of Canadian mines is that they’re murderers, and that’s throughout the region,” said Gustavo Castro, a close friend and colleague of Mariano’s who works for Chiapas NGO Otros Mundos.

“People have seen lives lost, dead livestock, waterways contaminated—that’s what they’ve seen of Canadian mining…”

 

They have good reason to believe Canada supports murder:

The following is a list of people who have died in mining related conflict in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador since June 2009:

• Marcelo Rivera—El Salvador—opposed the El Dorado mining project headed by Canadian firm Pacific Rim. Tortured and killed. Disappeared June 18, 2009, body was found 12 days later.

• Adolfo Ich—Guatemala—opposed HudBay nickel mining project. Allegedly shot by security guards hired by the mine on September 27, 2009.

• Martin Choc—Guatemala—shot and killed when men opened fire on a minivan he was traveling in September 28, 2009.

• Mariano Abarca Roblero—Mexico—opposed mine operated by Canadian firm Blackfire. Shot outside his home on November 27, 2009.

• Ramiro Rivera Gomez—El Salvador—opposed the El Dorado mining project. Despite 24 hour police protection shot and killed when the car he was driving in was ambushed, December 20, 2009.

• Dora Alicia Sorto Recinos—El Salvador—opposed El Dorado and was the wife of a man who had lost two fingers due to opposition to the mine. Murdered while eight months pregnant, December 26, 2009.

I love my country. I also love my kids, but when they messed up I did not blindly defend them. I held them to account and did what I could to nurture and reinforce good values – not only to be expressed in words, but through their actions as well. 

With that in mind, while I love my country, I find it increasingly difficult to be proud of it. Our governments have done far too many actions that oppose the values we claim to embrace, and we, the electorate, fail to hold our politicians to account. John McKay advises us on just such a thing:

A Facebook group for supporters of Bill C-300 ha(d) been created and McKay suggest(ed) those who support the Bill contact local Conservative MPs to express their support.

“Just make the lives of Conservative MPs as hard as possible. That seems to be about the only thing that works,” he said.

But I need to modify that advice to include all of those MPs who either voted against or abstained on C-300.

Let’s look at the party colours who think it’s no big deal if Canada pays murderers and torturers:

The clear proponents of murder and torture are the CONs with a whopping 139 votes against stopping funding to killers. One Independent (Guergis) also wants us to continue funding murderers.

Since the Bill was killed by 7 votes, some of those who didn’t bother showing up helped kill it and deserve mention as supporters of Canadian funded murder as well. That’s 13 Liberals, 4 NDP, 5 Bloc. Some may have had good reason to be absent, but the Liberals made sure it wouldn’t pass.

So, John McKay, we have to make the lives of Liberal MPs as hard as possible as well – not only those who abstained from the vote, but all of those Liberal MPs who failed to criticize their party and leader for helping kill the Bill.

Women everywhere must be swooning

Thanks for showing us what manliness entails in your world, Flanagan.

Tom Flanagan, a Canadian political science professor and former chief of staff to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, says Wikileaks creator Julian Assange should be killed - and he wants President Obama to order the assassination.

'I think Assange should be assassinated, actually. (laughs) I think Obama should put out a contract or use a drone or something.'  The CBC news host confronted him, saying incredulously, 'that's pretty harsh stuff'.  Flanagan replied:

'Well, I'm feeling pretty manly today…

Trying to get someone else to commit murder for you makes you feel manly.  Well now we know.

Seems this whole vicarious tough guy thing is typical of CONs as well –