While we here in Canada have been caught up in both our own economic crisis
and our federal election, things have been moving at a rapid pace globally.
On October 1st 2008, a silent coup happened, one that is rapidly bringing the end of America. Think I'm being melodramatic, or crazy in that "don't mind him, he's a conspiracy theorist" kind of way. It's probably tempting to bury our heads and laugh all of this off, but, it would be a mistake to do that. Why would that be, good question and I'll try to lead down a thorny path to some answers.
I'm a follower and armchair commentator of geopolitics, which I've rapidly picked up a small bit of knowledge about. I'm also a rabid opponent to the Security & Prosperity Partnership(SPP) (being re-branded as North American Standards & Regulatory Area, NASRA) and the North American Union (NAU), all of which are direct threats to Canada's sovereignty and ownership of Canadian natural resources, including ownership of business and our own systems, such as our public health care system.
I'm never going to make apologies for being a proud Canadian nationalist and I won't be shy in telling you that Canada should be protecting our resources and assets in this time of globalization. I remember back in the day, fervently marching with the other idealists against APEC, recognizing a bad thing even when I was so young and knew nothing about the world, or those who quite simply want to own all that is worth something.
There is no doubt that American hegemony and their long-forgotten goal of manifest destiny has been at the heart of the United States interactions and agreements with other nations forever. It's funny how for some reason I always remembered about manifest destiny (of all the things I've forgotten from Social Studies), I think it must have been the arrogant presumption of righteousness that offended me even in those tender years, who the hell did those people think they were, anyways?
Over the years I've gleaned many pieces of information and media on the ever-increasing pace of "harmonization" and "integration" of Canada with the US and Mexico, starting with the first Free Trade Agreement (FTA), then NAFTA under Brian Mulroney's (neo)Conservative government, continuing under Paul Martin's (neo)Liberal government and going full steam ahead under Stephen Harper's Conservative government with the SPP, and the NAU.
During this election, we've heard a new bit about Harper's Conservatives plans to "integrate" Canada into the European Union (EU). We only heard about it because it was leaked, Harper didn't bring it up and he isn't showing us the draft agreement. He also didn't tell us about his plans to meet leaders from the EU just three days after the Canadian Federal Election, to go over the agreement that could throw Canada into the garbage can of history as a sovereign nation. It's funny, I kind of think that is an important thing for Canadians to know about, but hey, I'm no Prime Minister, what do I know?
The American Coup: Setting the Stage
In a widely viewed lecture available on Youtube, Naomi Wolf, an American author, gave a talk about her book, The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot. Now, for those of you who know her, Ms. Wolf, a bright, personable, popular writer on topics of interest, mostly to women, never resonated as a rabblerouser, a politico, or even as a major intellectual. That changed for me when I watched this lecture
and I began to see her as a visionary and someone we should all begin to listen to about what was happening in the United States of America. With this lecture, she was putting her neck on the chopping block in a very personal way.
In this lecture, she details very clearly the 10 steps, or the blueprint, for open society's that are being shut down in strategic moves toward creating dictatorships. For her book, she studied the rise of Mussolini, Hitler, Pinochet and other despots to see what patterns could be learned about how they assumed control and turned their countries into nations of people who carried out the unthinkable horrors of
their totalitarian leaders. See here for the 10 Steps to Turn an Open Society into a Dictatorship.
In her lecture, The End of America, Ms.Wolf describes these steps and what it looks like in a society slowly being turned into a dictatorship. We should ask ourselves, is this something we see happening in America and, more importantly, are we seeing some of these things happening in our backyard in Canada, especially under Stephen Harper's Conservative government? I think we are, it's just perhaps more subtle and less overt like it is in the US. Plus, the Canadian media has been in a process of being controlled and concentrated through corporate ownership in a way that has made it more difficult to connect the dots across our vast nation and see the incremental
steps toward this slippery slope.
These are the 10 Steps that Wolf identifies in her book:
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
2. Create a gulag
3. Develop a thug caste
4. Set up an internal surveillance system
5. Harass citizens' groups
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7. Target key individuals
8. Control the press
9. Dissent equals treason
10. Suspend the rule of law
It's not too difficult to think of examples of most of these things:
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy -
The "War on Terror" after 9/11, which was used in both the US & Canada to bring in unprecedented changes to civil rights, leaving it very easy for people to called "terrorists" and locked up, throwing out the usual legal rights of those accused, including the right to even have the opportunity to look at the "evidence" used to make the charges in the first place.
On October 26 2001, the USA Patriot Act was passed by a Congress, which introducted unprecented changes to the civil liberties and human rights of all Americans. Seems interesting how quickly the American government was able to just throw such a thing together in just over a month from September 11th 2001, but I guess they're speedy folks, or were they planning for something just like this to start revoking citizen rights under the American government and Constitution?
But it didn't just stop there. Once the information of citizens from other countries, such as Canada, was in the hands of US corporations, the US government could access this under the Patriot Act, without the parties ever knowing.
In BC, in 2006, Gordon Campbell's BC Liberal government passed amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act in 2006 that allowed the disclosure of citizens' personal information outside Canada "to an individual who is a service provider of the public body... if the information is necessary for the performance of the duties of the individual in relation to the public body."
When combining this with the privatization of government services and information and technology contracts awarded by the Campbell Liberal government to American and transnational corporations(who often paid hefty lobbying fees and donations to the BC Liberal party), a great deal of personal and private information of Canadian citizens became easy to access by the US government.
In 2007, an audit by the U.S. Justice Department found that the American FBI committed "serious misuses of national security letter authorities" to access confidential records, and withheld information from Congress on how often businesses were forced to turn over customer data.
Here in Canada, fear was also used to motivate changes to our civil rights and an immediate re-organization of governmental departments into one monster Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparation (DPS), similar in scope and work to the American Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There is more on this below, as well as a timeline of the changes.
Security measures since 9/11
The changes wrought by the terror attacks of September 11 to Canada's laws and practices vis-à-vis refugees and immigrants are significant. Political pressure to tighten the Canadian border has resulted in the promotion of a vaguely defined 'security perimeter' that would encompass perhaps the whole of North America. As part of this project, the Canadian government has moved towards greater harmonization of immigration security policies and practices with the U.S., including cross-deputation of intelligence and policing agencies.
The Canadian government in this period also signed the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, which enables the rejection of refugee claimants at the border and their return to the United States for processing, and passed the Anti-Terrorism Act, or Bill C-36. Bill C-36, passed mere months after 9/11, allows for the arrest of terror suspects without a warrant, compels individuals to give testimony at secret hearings, and enlarges the scope for state surveillance and ethnic profiling.
Dec. 18th, 2001 - The Anti-Terrorism Act became part of the Criminal Code. It was hustled through parliament by the Liberal government using their majority and procedure to shut down debate and stop amendments by the opposition.
The changes to the code are "aimed at disabling and dismantling the activities of terrorists groups and those who support them." It allowed citizens to be arrested and detained for up to 72 hours if they are suspected of planning a terrorist act.
The Three Primary Provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (Bills C-36 and C-42)
* suppress existing terrorist groups
* provide police with new investigative tools
* strengthen prison sentences for terrorists
For a much deeper analysis, read this by Anil Hira and Douglas Ross of SFU:
Canada After 9/11: A Land of Deep Ambivalence
The Divergent Canadian Response to American Primacy and the 'War on Terror,' But Ever Deeper Continental Economic Integration
Canada's Military Budget
Under the Stephen Harper Conservative government, Canada's military budget has ballooned out of control and instead of sending our troops abroad on NATO and peacekeeping missions, Harper changed our Forces mandate, a proud Canadian heritage, and instead sent Canada into Afghanistan into an American war over oil, under the guise of ousting the Taliban.
It was only during this October 2008 Federal Election have Canadians learned that Harper's mission in Afghanistan has cost us $7.7 billion dollars over the past six years, and could reach $18.1 billion dollars by 2011. However, due to "a lack of government consistency and transparency" it is difficult to fully estimate
how much this American war will cost Canadians, both monetarily and in the lives of our Armed Forces serving there, for a false war.
2. Create a gulag - Guatanomo Bay. Let's quickly review how this relates to Canada. Stephen Harper, as Canada's Prime Minister, has allowed a Canadian child, Omar Khadr to be abused, tortured and imprisoned for YEARS in Gitmo. When all other nations had reclaimed their citizens from this gulag, Harper has left Omar there and his ignored the child's rights under United Nation conventions and treaties. Stephen Harper's heart is as black as his soul for that. And being a father himself, he is a sorry excuse for a human being to fail to stop the abuse and torture of this Canadian child, who has now spent a quarter of his life imprisoned and abused by the American government. Shame on Stephen Harper, Shame on the Conservatives and they've brought shame on Canada for their abandonment of this Canadian child.
Omar Khadr Project
In Canada, we have both federal and provincial jails. Thankfully, Harper hasn't branched out and started contracting out to build new prisons the way the Americans have in creating their prison industrial complex.
3. Develop a thug caste - Blackwater - A company that has reaped multi-million dollar (over $800 million in contracts) for mercenary work for the US in Iraq. The US government (the State Department ) has contracted out military operations. They operate outside of the law, they have been alleged to kill civilians and they are accountable to no-one.
Apparently they also have contracts to work inside the US too. And, a Blackwater-linked company is training Canadian troops. They are also involved in intelligence gathering. For whom they are doing that is a big question.
Blackwater mercenaries are operating inside the United States, as well as training Canadian troops down in Virgina, home of the FBI.
The Privatization of Fascism: 60 minutes piece on Blackwater
BlackWater-Lobby Canada Tory Government for Secret Funding?
http://www.freewebs.com/habeascorpuscanada/grounds.html
Blackwater training some Canadian troops
David Pugliese, CanWest News Service Published: Saturday, September 29, 2007
Select Canadian soldiers have been sent to Blackwater U.S.A. in North Carolina for specialized training in bodyguard and shooting skills. Other soldiers have taken counterterrorism evasive-driving courses with the private military company now at the centre of an investigation into the killings of Iraqi civilians and mounting
concerns about the aggressive tactics of its workers in the field.
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=414820f7-998a-496f-b41d-c033e5d6d168
Blackwater-linked firm to train Canadian troops
Aug 27, 2008. Woods. Ottawa Bureau: The Star.
The military gave notice this week of its intention to award an $850,000 contract for advanced counterinsurgency training to the Terrorism Research Center, a Virginia-based firm that specializes in terrorism training for military and law enforcement officials. The contract is for one year with the option for a two-year extension.
The counterinsurgency school, which boasts close links to the U.S. government, is listed as a branch of Total Intelligence Solutions, a company that is run by former director of CIA counterterrorism Cofer Black and Erik Prince, a former U.S. Navy Seal.
Blackwater Shadow Army: Youtube videos on Blackwater's "work"
4. Set up an internal surveillance system - Some of us with suspicious minds can't help but wonder at the timing of the proliferation of the new social world many of us inhabit - MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Microsoft.
It is now possible for any of us to have our most personal information gathering and surveilled by anyone with mad skills enough to hack our accounts.
Within one generation, millions of citizens around the world are putting vast quantities of personal and private information out onto the Internet through social networking sites and in other ways that are easy to trace and observe by those with the intention and skills.
The ability to track people's movement online and in the real world have become easy ways to keep track of what people are doing, with whom and when, what they are buying and where they live. Another example that comes to mind, many people aren't aware that the new I-Phones have a built-in GPS so you can track people's whereabouts.
An interesting story has circulated around the web about Microsoft Vista is that they've built a backdoor which, if activated, opens one's computer up like a vault for people to take a peak. They've also been busy little bees developing technology to help law enforcement and security personnel access information from people's computers. Aren't you feeling oh so safe as you surf around the web?
Microsoft Gives Vista Backdoor Keys To The Police
Microsoft device helps police pluck evidence from cyberscene of crime
By Benjamin J. Romano. Seattle Times technology reporter
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2004379751_msftlaw29.html
Many of the websites I get information from that are "off the beaten track" are regularly hacked and have their servers taken down. Sometimes this happens in unison to several of them at once. Videos are often removed faster from the 'net than people can get to see them, especially ones put out by those trying to get the word out about our rapid erosion of freedom, democracy and civil rights.
There isn't a doubt in my mind that me and some of my other activist friends are on some sort of "list" and are being watched online. Hell, I've been videotaped by police department members going to political events (everyone entering was
videotaped). This is a democratic, legal, local party meeting, here in Canada and our local police are recording citizens participation in these meetings. If that doesn't scare you I don't know what will.
Video - Marketing the Police State in Canada: Technology to Scan License Plates
Intelligence & Surveillance: Canada's No Fly List
Even though we don't hear much about it anymore, let's not forget Canada still has a "No Fly list." And once you're on that, even if it is a mistake, you're never coming off of it. And if US Customs has your name, you are flagged and searched. I don't even try to go down there anymore.
Passenger Protect: Canada's No Fly List
The government of Canada has created its own no fly list as part of a program called Passenger Protect.[40]
The Canadian list incorporates data from domestic and foreign intelligence sources, including the U.S. No Fly List.[41]
It contains between 500 and 2,000 names (that we're aware of).
Two main components:
1. "Specified Persons List" which includes the name, birth date, and gender of individuals believed to pose a security threat;
2. "Identity Screening Regulations" requiring all passengers who appear to be 12 years of age or older to present valid
government-issued ID before they are allowed to board a flight.[1] The list itself contains 1250 +- 750 names.
American Terrorist Watch List
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also keeps a ACLU Terrorist Watch List Counter, which has well over 1 million Americans being "watched" by various US agencies, including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department
"Among those caught up by the no-fly list are many infants and small children." Imagine for a second your child being identified and placed on a "terrorist list" by your own government.
There's no doubt in my mind that Canadian authorities have their own "intelligence" and surveillance watch lists, Harper & his minions taken virtually every page of Canada's strategies from the Bush administration.
5. Harass citizens' groups -
There has been widespread reports of the infiltration of community and activist groups and agent provacateur's being part of crowds during demonstrations on things such as the WTO, SPP and other anti-globalization meetings.
From Wolf's article:
There are reports in the US that anti-war, environmental and other groups have been infiltrated by agents: a secret Pentagon database includes more than four dozen peaceful anti-war meetings, rallies or marches by American citizens in its category of 1,500 "suspicious incidents". The equally secret Counterintelligence Field Activity (Cifa) agency of the Department of Defense has been gathering information about domestic organisations engaged in peaceful political activities: Cifa is supposed to track "potential terrorist threats" as it watches ordinary US citizen activists. A little-noticed new law has redefined activism such as animal rights protests as "terrorism". So the definition of "terrorist" slowly expands to include the opposition.
In Canada, we know so little about steps our own government has taken to infiltrate and harass citizen and community groups. I think most Canadians also know little about how our government has organized, or re-organized our external and internal defense, safety and emergency planning systems since 2001.
Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Forces
December 2003 - The Canadian government undertook a reorganization of the federal government, DND was in charge of emergency preparedness and response in Canada.
The Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness was created in 2003. Liberal MP Anne McLellan was the first Minister under Paul Martin, Liberal Prime Minister.
DPS's "responsibility is for protecting Canadians and helping to maintain a peaceful and safe society....The department is in many ways similar to the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, though it does not cover the protection of maritime
sovereignty." What this did was re-organize a number of Canadian agencies under one department, with one Minister.
Also in 2003, the following departments were placed under DPS's mandate and control:
* Canada Border Services Agency
* Royal Canadian Mounted Police
* Canadian Security Intelligence Service
* Correctional Service Canada
* National Parole Board
In March 2003 Day and Harper co-wrote a letter to The Wall Street Journal in which they condemned the Canadian government's unwillingness to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Day later appeared as a speaker at a "Canadians for Bush" rally in the Niagara region, organized by controversial right-wing minister Tristan Emmanuel.
April 4, 2005 - The Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Act came into force.
Feb. 1, 2006 - Canada Command was formed, which is the Canadian Forces organization responsible for all routine and contingency Canadian Forces operations in Canada and continental North America. What operations are they undertaking in Canada & the US?
February 6, 2006 - Conservative Stockwell Day was appointed Minister of DPS by Stephen Harper. Things go from bad to much, much worse.
I think it is fair to ask on what grounds does Day have the experience, knowledge, or intelligence to be in charge of such an important department. This is a man whose highest level of education is high school. He was unable to finish
bible college (Vanguard), or university (Univerity of Victoria).
In his work, prior to using his daddy's political connections, he was an assistant pastor and school administrator in a fundamentalist Christian school, which came under fire for exposing students to anti-semitic teachings in the small community in Alberta. While sitting as a provincial MLA, the Government of Alberta had to pay out $792,064 in taxpayer funds to settle a defamation suit brought on by Day's words toward a lawyer. He also frighteningly was a believer of the Young Earth creationism, whose adherents often "believe that the scientific evidence supporting evolution, geological uniformitarianism, or other theories which are at odds with a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation account, is either flawed or misinterpreted."
February 14th 2008 - The Civil Assistance Plan (CAP) was signed between Canada (Stephen Harper) & the United States(George Bush), US Northern Command.
The purpose of the Canada-United States Civil Assistance Plan (CAP) is to provide a framework for the military of one nation to provide support to the military of the other nation in the performance of civil support operations.
Stephen Harper, Conservative Prime Minister signed this agreement secretly, without ever telling Canadian citizens about it. Canadians only found out when it was announced in the American media. Harper has now tied Canada to an agreement where American troops can come across our border at the call of the Canadian government and Canadian forces can cross the border to operate on American soil in case of a civil emergency.
There is no information available to the Canadian public whether American armed forces in Canada will be subject to Canadian laws, civil, or military. There is no information available about who American armed forces would be under the rule of, who they are accountable to, or what body Canadian citizens could make complaints about their conduct while they are operating in Canada.
It's fascinating to read a story like the one mentioned below when placing it into context that Canada has a fundamentalist Conservative Minister in charge of the RCMP. So, in spite of reliable, expert research, review and articles published by
world reknowned peer reviewed medical journals, we have our national police force contracting Conservatives to do research to refute the findings of real research efforts that support the continuation of a medical program that has scads
of real evidence to demonstrate Insite is working and in what ways.
RCMP Quietly Funded Study Critical of Insite Effort
Tory minister cited report in effort to close safe injection clinic.
By Monte Paulsen (Wednesday, October 8, 2008). Thetyee.ca
See Part 2 for More.
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7. Target key individuals
8. Control the press
9. Dissent equals treason
10. Suspend the rule of law
Monday, October 13, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Surrey Leads Canada in Whistleblowing Policies to Improve Accountability
Surrey has a pretty bad, perhaps well-deserved rap, but that has changed significantly under the enlightened and progressive leadership of Dianne Watts, mayor and city council. Over the course of the executive leadership at Surrey City hall, they have introduced some excellent and very progressive policies and best practices that aim to reform and improve how the city and community do business together and how the city operates.
The first of these is the Whistleblower (Serious Complaints) Policy, introduced in June 2006:
The Whistleblower Policy is designed to provide a process for City employees to report any conduct that is not consistent with City policies and by-laws without fear of retaliation or penalization. This extensive policy applies to the City’s finances, Code of Conduct, accounting, government laws and rules and regulations.
The policy is the most broad-based and far-reaching of its kind in Canada, with only the City of Toronto having any kind of whistleblower policy whatsoever.
City of Surrey Leads The Way With Whistleblower Policy
June 13, 2006
In September 2008, the Surrey city council also introduced the Lobbyist Registration Policy:
The Policy requires lobbyists who intend to advocate on behalf of applicants for a rezoning, development permit, or an official community plan amendment to register with the City to ensure their activities are part of the public record. Lobbyists will be required to register with the registrar in the Clerk’s office and to update their file whenever they take on new clients.
“Through the Lobbyist Registration Policy we are ensuring the public is aware of those who are advocating when significant land use decisions are being considered by Council and who they represent,” said Mayor Dianne Watts. “We want to ensure the process is open and to send a strong message that this Council is firmly committed to transparent decision-making in government.”
Surrey’s New Lobbyist Registration Policy Increases Accountability and Transparency
September 9, 2008
Why Whistleblowing is Good for Vancouver
Excerpt:
Whistleblower protection, the name usually given to such protective measures, seems to be a no-brainer for the interests of municipal accountability.
As this week's Georgia Straight points out, in cases where employees have blown the whistle on organizational or governmental wrong-doing the perils of not having whistleblower protection have included harassment, intimidation, and loss of employment.
Whistleblower protection is far from a perfect solution but it does provide a modest baseline of security. This type of security is an important component of the system of checks and balances that are in place in our civic institutions. In fact, it's surprising this sort of protection isn't already part of the city's human resources practices.
***
CUPE, the City, and whistles
By Charlie Smith. The Georgia Straight.
Excerpt:
Former federal whistle blower Joanna Gualtieri told the Straight in a phone interview from Ottawa that whistle blowers need to be protected by statutes because policies can be ignored, and because unions sometimes won't pursue a whistle-blowing issue if they're trying to negotiate with governments on issues that could affect hundreds of thousands of employees. "They're not in a position to piss off the government," she said.
The B.C. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act includes a clause protecting provincial-government whistle blowers who bring their concerns "in good faith" to the attention of the information and privacy commissioner.
Whistle-blower protection
30.3 An employer, whether or not a public body, must not dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline, harass or otherwise disadvantage an employee of the employer, or deny that employee a benefit, because
(a) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has notified the minister responsible for this Act under section 30.2,
(b) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has disclosed to the commissioner that the employer or any other person has contravened or is about to contravene this Act,
(c) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has done or stated an intention of doing anything that is required to be done in order to avoid having any person contravene this Act,
(d) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has refused to do or stated an intention of refusing to do anything that is in contravention of this Act, or
(e) the employer believes that an employee will do anything described in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).
Seven common tactics for stymieing whistle blowers
> Make the whistle blower the issue, and take the focus off the message.
> Isolate the whistle blower, separating him or her from potential allies.
> Destabilize the whistle blower's support base.
> Blow the whistle first to set the agenda, defusing the impact of the whistle blower's action.
> Eliminate the whistle blower's job.
> Prosecute whistle blowers or threaten to take them to court.
> Bring in experts to discredit the disclosure.
Source: Confronting Moral Worlds: Understanding Business Ethics , by Mark N. Wexler (Prentice-Hall Canada, 2000).
Ferreira v. City of Richmond
In separate reasons for judgment, Saunders wrote: "It is not sufficient to say simply that a case concerns 'whistle blowing' to know the proper forum because that moniker may give rise to a plethora of issues, including freedom of speech, defamation, discipline, dismissal, harassment, and unsafe working environment. Thus while the context of this case may fit within the term 'whistle blowing', it is the essence of the case that must be examined to determine whether, at its heart, it is a matter of employment governed by the collective agreement."
Ferreira v. City of Richmond et al, 2004 BCSC 1600 (CanLII) — 2004-12-03
Ferreira v. Richmond (City), 2005 BCCA 66 (CanLII) — 2005-02-10
British Columbia — Court of Appeal
Ferreira v. Richmond (City), 2007 BCCA 131 (CanLII) — 2007-02-28
British Columbia — Court of Appeal
[58]What, then, should be made of the fact that these alleged tortious acts were taken in retaliation for whistleblowing? Whistleblowing is a matter of great public concern, which has been expressed recently by the Supreme Court of Canada: Merk v. International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local 771, 2005 SCC 70 (CanLII), [2005] 3 S.C.R. 425, 2005 SCC 70; Vaughan, supra. These concerns have also been reflected by the common law's willingness to afford measures of protection for whistleblowers in appropriate circumstances: Initial Services Ltd. v. Putternil et al., [1967] 3 All E.R. 145; Fraser v. Public Service Staff Relations Board, 1985 CanLII 14 (S.C.C.), [1985] 2 S.C.R. 455; Read v. Canada (Attorney General), 2005 FC 798 (CanLII), [2005] F.C.J. No. 990, 2005 FC 798 (QL).
************
It's time for the courts to realize that they are falling down in recognizing the vast limitations for the civil and human rights of whistleblowers. Most collective agreements, if they even have "whistleblower" language, or organizations that have "policies" are woefully inadequate and considered open to interpretation and manipulation by employers. Patterns of outcomes and personal and professional consequences to whistleblowers, their families and within organizations are quite well-established and there is a great deal of research on these things.
Frankly, the time of arbitrators, unions and employers dealing with these types of issues that arise out of the employer-employee relationship must be ended. None of the parties involved simply have enough experience, education, or balls to deal with the issues and corruption has pervaded the process in many respects. As this Richmond case demonstrates and many others we know of, employers, and union representatives simply don't have a clue how to investigate and resolve these issues adequately and fairly.
Most of us don't believe police forces should investigate themselves, so why do we think that employers will be any better in matters they are quite likely motivated to keep covered up, especially if they concern public funds and management of public services. And, it is precisely the failure of unions to adequately represent whistleblowing employees and those who have been psychologically abused and harassed that lead to many union members feeling alienated and abandoned by their unions in their darkest days. Not that long ago in Beautiful BC we had a terrible example of the kind of tragedy that can occur when workplace issues of harassment aren't adequately and responsibily handled. How many more less violent, but no less damaging, workplace issues occur every day in diverse workplaces, with no corrections, no improvements, or lessons learned?
It is time for the courts to begin to demonstrate some serious leadership in whistleblower cases. As Madame Justice Saunders writes:
[81] It is not sufficient to say simply that a case concerns ‘whistle blowing’ to know the proper forum because that moniker may give rise to a plethora of issues, including freedom of speech, defamation, discipline, dismissal, harassment, and unsafe working environment.
It also isn't enough to have "whistleblower language" in collective agreements, or in policy. Until employers, unions and the courts recognize the personal, professional and organizational costs of corruption, illegal activities, bullying, psychological harassment, intimidation and misuse of managerial power in the workplace everyone will be impacted. There are those among us who believe in justice, in doing the right thing and in seeing an end to corruption and a commitment to improving workplace health, safety and practices. These courageous individuals should be applauded and thanked, not harassed to disability, death and fired, as is the standard modus operandi for most now. We look forward to the day that will be coming when all workers in BC will have the same rights and protections as those in Quebec, the right to work free of psychological harassment and harm, in safety and with dignity.
The first of these is the Whistleblower (Serious Complaints) Policy, introduced in June 2006:
The Whistleblower Policy is designed to provide a process for City employees to report any conduct that is not consistent with City policies and by-laws without fear of retaliation or penalization. This extensive policy applies to the City’s finances, Code of Conduct, accounting, government laws and rules and regulations.
The policy is the most broad-based and far-reaching of its kind in Canada, with only the City of Toronto having any kind of whistleblower policy whatsoever.
City of Surrey Leads The Way With Whistleblower Policy
June 13, 2006
In September 2008, the Surrey city council also introduced the Lobbyist Registration Policy:
The Policy requires lobbyists who intend to advocate on behalf of applicants for a rezoning, development permit, or an official community plan amendment to register with the City to ensure their activities are part of the public record. Lobbyists will be required to register with the registrar in the Clerk’s office and to update their file whenever they take on new clients.
“Through the Lobbyist Registration Policy we are ensuring the public is aware of those who are advocating when significant land use decisions are being considered by Council and who they represent,” said Mayor Dianne Watts. “We want to ensure the process is open and to send a strong message that this Council is firmly committed to transparent decision-making in government.”
Surrey’s New Lobbyist Registration Policy Increases Accountability and Transparency
September 9, 2008
Why Whistleblowing is Good for Vancouver
Excerpt:
Whistleblower protection, the name usually given to such protective measures, seems to be a no-brainer for the interests of municipal accountability.
As this week's Georgia Straight points out, in cases where employees have blown the whistle on organizational or governmental wrong-doing the perils of not having whistleblower protection have included harassment, intimidation, and loss of employment.
Whistleblower protection is far from a perfect solution but it does provide a modest baseline of security. This type of security is an important component of the system of checks and balances that are in place in our civic institutions. In fact, it's surprising this sort of protection isn't already part of the city's human resources practices.
***
CUPE, the City, and whistles
By Charlie Smith. The Georgia Straight.
Excerpt:
Former federal whistle blower Joanna Gualtieri told the Straight in a phone interview from Ottawa that whistle blowers need to be protected by statutes because policies can be ignored, and because unions sometimes won't pursue a whistle-blowing issue if they're trying to negotiate with governments on issues that could affect hundreds of thousands of employees. "They're not in a position to piss off the government," she said.
The B.C. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act includes a clause protecting provincial-government whistle blowers who bring their concerns "in good faith" to the attention of the information and privacy commissioner.
Whistle-blower protection
30.3 An employer, whether or not a public body, must not dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline, harass or otherwise disadvantage an employee of the employer, or deny that employee a benefit, because
(a) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has notified the minister responsible for this Act under section 30.2,
(b) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has disclosed to the commissioner that the employer or any other person has contravened or is about to contravene this Act,
(c) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has done or stated an intention of doing anything that is required to be done in order to avoid having any person contravene this Act,
(d) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has refused to do or stated an intention of refusing to do anything that is in contravention of this Act, or
(e) the employer believes that an employee will do anything described in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).
Seven common tactics for stymieing whistle blowers
> Make the whistle blower the issue, and take the focus off the message.
> Isolate the whistle blower, separating him or her from potential allies.
> Destabilize the whistle blower's support base.
> Blow the whistle first to set the agenda, defusing the impact of the whistle blower's action.
> Eliminate the whistle blower's job.
> Prosecute whistle blowers or threaten to take them to court.
> Bring in experts to discredit the disclosure.
Source: Confronting Moral Worlds: Understanding Business Ethics , by Mark N. Wexler (Prentice-Hall Canada, 2000).
Ferreira v. City of Richmond
In separate reasons for judgment, Saunders wrote: "It is not sufficient to say simply that a case concerns 'whistle blowing' to know the proper forum because that moniker may give rise to a plethora of issues, including freedom of speech, defamation, discipline, dismissal, harassment, and unsafe working environment. Thus while the context of this case may fit within the term 'whistle blowing', it is the essence of the case that must be examined to determine whether, at its heart, it is a matter of employment governed by the collective agreement."
Ferreira v. City of Richmond et al, 2004 BCSC 1600 (CanLII) — 2004-12-03
Ferreira v. Richmond (City), 2005 BCCA 66 (CanLII) — 2005-02-10
British Columbia — Court of Appeal
Ferreira v. Richmond (City), 2007 BCCA 131 (CanLII) — 2007-02-28
British Columbia — Court of Appeal
[58]What, then, should be made of the fact that these alleged tortious acts were taken in retaliation for whistleblowing? Whistleblowing is a matter of great public concern, which has been expressed recently by the Supreme Court of Canada: Merk v. International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local 771, 2005 SCC 70 (CanLII), [2005] 3 S.C.R. 425, 2005 SCC 70; Vaughan, supra. These concerns have also been reflected by the common law's willingness to afford measures of protection for whistleblowers in appropriate circumstances: Initial Services Ltd. v. Putternil et al., [1967] 3 All E.R. 145; Fraser v. Public Service Staff Relations Board, 1985 CanLII 14 (S.C.C.), [1985] 2 S.C.R. 455; Read v. Canada (Attorney General), 2005 FC 798 (CanLII), [2005] F.C.J. No. 990, 2005 FC 798 (QL).
************
It's time for the courts to realize that they are falling down in recognizing the vast limitations for the civil and human rights of whistleblowers. Most collective agreements, if they even have "whistleblower" language, or organizations that have "policies" are woefully inadequate and considered open to interpretation and manipulation by employers. Patterns of outcomes and personal and professional consequences to whistleblowers, their families and within organizations are quite well-established and there is a great deal of research on these things.
Frankly, the time of arbitrators, unions and employers dealing with these types of issues that arise out of the employer-employee relationship must be ended. None of the parties involved simply have enough experience, education, or balls to deal with the issues and corruption has pervaded the process in many respects. As this Richmond case demonstrates and many others we know of, employers, and union representatives simply don't have a clue how to investigate and resolve these issues adequately and fairly.
Most of us don't believe police forces should investigate themselves, so why do we think that employers will be any better in matters they are quite likely motivated to keep covered up, especially if they concern public funds and management of public services. And, it is precisely the failure of unions to adequately represent whistleblowing employees and those who have been psychologically abused and harassed that lead to many union members feeling alienated and abandoned by their unions in their darkest days. Not that long ago in Beautiful BC we had a terrible example of the kind of tragedy that can occur when workplace issues of harassment aren't adequately and responsibily handled. How many more less violent, but no less damaging, workplace issues occur every day in diverse workplaces, with no corrections, no improvements, or lessons learned?
It is time for the courts to begin to demonstrate some serious leadership in whistleblower cases. As Madame Justice Saunders writes:
[81] It is not sufficient to say simply that a case concerns ‘whistle blowing’ to know the proper forum because that moniker may give rise to a plethora of issues, including freedom of speech, defamation, discipline, dismissal, harassment, and unsafe working environment.
It also isn't enough to have "whistleblower language" in collective agreements, or in policy. Until employers, unions and the courts recognize the personal, professional and organizational costs of corruption, illegal activities, bullying, psychological harassment, intimidation and misuse of managerial power in the workplace everyone will be impacted. There are those among us who believe in justice, in doing the right thing and in seeing an end to corruption and a commitment to improving workplace health, safety and practices. These courageous individuals should be applauded and thanked, not harassed to disability, death and fired, as is the standard modus operandi for most now. We look forward to the day that will be coming when all workers in BC will have the same rights and protections as those in Quebec, the right to work free of psychological harassment and harm, in safety and with dignity.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The War Drums are Sounding
What’s that sound we’re hearing around our Global Village? Well, if my sources can be believed it’s the increasing beat of the War Drums. Under the cover of the Beijing Olympics, some might say the distraction of the Chinese, a number of war activities have been taking place around the world. The geopolitical maneuvering is ramping up for what will make for a very busy and perhaps frightening fall and winter.
First up, the propaganda machine is in overdrive about what really happened in Georgia. According to human rights reports, earlier in August, coincidentally as the Olympics were getting underway, heavy fighting broke out in South Ossetia between Georgian and South Ossetian forces. Russia became involved there and in the separate region of Abkhazia and other parts of Georgia in the following days. The violence was reported to have uprooted almost 160,000 people in recent weeks.
The Western media is playing this as Russia as aggressor, but there are some alternative views on that. This video clip of a 12 year old American girl caught in the fighting in Georgia was one. In this clip, she reports she was running from Georgian troops that were bombing the city and that it was the Russian troops who were helping and she thanked the Russians for coming to the rescue. Her aunt says it’s Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia who began this offensive and was the aggressor. She stated the city was bombed by the Georgian government and the president must resign. The Fox “news” anchor cuts away from both who were reporting positive information about Russia’s involvement in the incident.
And, wouldn’t you know it, the word is that after a bloodless coup, in which Saakashvili was backed by the American government, he was elected in 2004. Interestingly, he has links to the United States State Department, which is the foreign-policy arm of the American government (apparently he had a fellowship there). He also attended Columbia Law School in New York City & George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. Sounds like the perfect man to be at the helm of a break-away Russian province. Seeing the ways of democracy at last. And maybe the color green?
It’s interesting to read this official statement from the US State Department:
NATO Support for Georgia
Secretary Rice (Aug. 19): "...NATO intends to support the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Georgia, and to support its democratically elected government, its democracy, and to deny Russia the strategic objective of undermining that democracy, of making Georgia weaker or of threatening Georgia’s territorial integrity."
If you desire to be poor, oppressed, and eventually vaporized in a nuclear war, vote Republican. ~ Paul Craig Roberts
*******************************
This bit of news might have slipped past most of our radar. But, again, the US has been busy overseas. They’ve signed a Missile Defense Agreement with Poland, who is being lauded by Condie Rice as being “fully integrated into the transatlantic structures of the European Union and NATO.” This little deal enables the US to position 10 interceptor rockets in Poland.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - who signed the deal in Warsaw - said Moscow's earlier warning that the base on Polish soil could become a target for a nuclear attack bordered on the bizarre.
Last month, the US signed an agreement with the Czech Republic to base tracking radars there as part of the defence system.
Washington wants the sites to be in operation by about 2012.
Reports from inside Russia are saying that President Medvedev has issued a directive to deliver a 'crushing response' to those Western Nations (US and Israel) for positioning their missile shield in Poland, Apparently Russia has also notified Norway that Russia is now cutting all ties to NATO, and has warned the Western Military Alliance that it will not tolerate the rearming of Georgia.
********************************
Another big piece of news is the resignation of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s beleaguered prime minister, who many believe was simply an American puppet. He resigned so he wouldn’t be impeached, as the Coalition was calling for. Word was he was trying to negotiate a deal that if he resigned he wouldn’t be tried as a war criminal. Here’s what the American State Department has to say about Musharraf:
Pakistani President Resigns
Secretary Rice (Aug. 18): "President Musharraf has been a friend to the United States and one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism. ...We will continue to work with the Pakistani government and political leaders...to see Pakistan reach its goal of becoming a stable, prosperous, democratic, modern, Muslim nation."
**
Nigeria military chiefs dismissed
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has dismissed the country's chief of the defence staff together with the heads of the army and navy.
*****************************************
This article is an interesting one and sheds a light on the motivations of puppet leaders around the World. It’s kind of a no brainer that these “world leaders” have sold their nations and people out for the almighty buck, but I’m not sure if we understand the immensity of that fire sale. In a prescient way it brings us back to our domestic leadership. It’s been long known that Stephen Harper was simply an American hack and puppet, moving us closer to our demise as a sovereign nation and a complete erosion of our civil and human rights. I now suspect this is much further along than even those of us who’ve been long been aware of the steady increase in “deep integration.”
I think even at a provincial level maybe we need to link the fast track to political suicide Gordon Campbell has been on in the last while. Most of BC is just reeling from things like the carbon tax and the latest insane and unwarranted pay raises to well fed Deputy Ministers, ADM’s and senior bureaucrats.
Most people are expressing outrage and many of us are trying to wrap our brains around how he would do such a thing with an election only a scant 9 months away. But, I think it’s time we begin to situate Campbell and the BC Liberals conduct squarely as allies and underlings of the massive steamroller that is squashing all of us in the name of global domination. Campbell sure seems to be acting like a man who isn’t too worried about his future and His Majesty is acting benevolently toward his faithful insiders at all of our expense with impunity. I learned long ago, when things don’t make sense, there is something I just don’t know yet, but someone else does.
It’s wild if you begin to look at the common patterns. All of these “installed” leaders have sold out their own people, hook, line and sinker. Some are called War Criminals, or War mongers, committing war and treason against their own citizens. It is beyond my comprehension that people would engage in these kinds of things simply for greed.
So, the question becomes, are we going to survive this unceasing and greed for global domination? Because the most alarmist reports are saying we are rapidly heading toward World War III and it is starting to look that way to more than a few of us armchair observers. The sabers are rattling, against Russia, against Iran. Unwinnable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. China’s hands won’t be tied forever, the Olympics are almost over. I guess it was quite a clever bit of strategy to award these summer Olympics to keep them busy and occupied.
With groups like the National Endowment for Democracy, offering “grants” for the “strengthening of democratic institutions” around the world, is it any wonder that we are rapidly heading toward a showdown some of us might not live through? We’re already losing far too many courageous soldiers and others who deserve so much better. And a life.
I don’t know about you, but I’m rather fond of living and want a safe world for our children to grow up in. Another Cold War, or nuclear war is not even on my list of things to do. In the West, we still live in vaguely democratic nations, so I can only hope and encourage all of us to work together and fight the real enemies, not the shadows and illusions created to deflect from who we really need to get rid of.
We need to start getting out into the streets and raising our voices against this oppression. In BC and Canada, we have some elections coming up and we need to get involved. If the traditional left parties aren’t up to the job, as they seem to have been kneecapped by the neo-cons too, we need to back candidates who are there to fight for our rights and needs. This is no time for half-assed, or namby-pamby leaders. Our world and lives are going to be at stake very soon and we need to elect the best people to help us all. I don’t know about you, but someday, if the children I know ask me what I did to fight for the World, I want to be able to tell them what I did so they could have a future.
First up, the propaganda machine is in overdrive about what really happened in Georgia. According to human rights reports, earlier in August, coincidentally as the Olympics were getting underway, heavy fighting broke out in South Ossetia between Georgian and South Ossetian forces. Russia became involved there and in the separate region of Abkhazia and other parts of Georgia in the following days. The violence was reported to have uprooted almost 160,000 people in recent weeks.
The Western media is playing this as Russia as aggressor, but there are some alternative views on that. This video clip of a 12 year old American girl caught in the fighting in Georgia was one. In this clip, she reports she was running from Georgian troops that were bombing the city and that it was the Russian troops who were helping and she thanked the Russians for coming to the rescue. Her aunt says it’s Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia who began this offensive and was the aggressor. She stated the city was bombed by the Georgian government and the president must resign. The Fox “news” anchor cuts away from both who were reporting positive information about Russia’s involvement in the incident.
And, wouldn’t you know it, the word is that after a bloodless coup, in which Saakashvili was backed by the American government, he was elected in 2004. Interestingly, he has links to the United States State Department, which is the foreign-policy arm of the American government (apparently he had a fellowship there). He also attended Columbia Law School in New York City & George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. Sounds like the perfect man to be at the helm of a break-away Russian province. Seeing the ways of democracy at last. And maybe the color green?
It’s interesting to read this official statement from the US State Department:
NATO Support for Georgia
Secretary Rice (Aug. 19): "...NATO intends to support the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Georgia, and to support its democratically elected government, its democracy, and to deny Russia the strategic objective of undermining that democracy, of making Georgia weaker or of threatening Georgia’s territorial integrity."
If you desire to be poor, oppressed, and eventually vaporized in a nuclear war, vote Republican. ~ Paul Craig Roberts
*******************************
This bit of news might have slipped past most of our radar. But, again, the US has been busy overseas. They’ve signed a Missile Defense Agreement with Poland, who is being lauded by Condie Rice as being “fully integrated into the transatlantic structures of the European Union and NATO.” This little deal enables the US to position 10 interceptor rockets in Poland.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - who signed the deal in Warsaw - said Moscow's earlier warning that the base on Polish soil could become a target for a nuclear attack bordered on the bizarre.
Last month, the US signed an agreement with the Czech Republic to base tracking radars there as part of the defence system.
Washington wants the sites to be in operation by about 2012.
Reports from inside Russia are saying that President Medvedev has issued a directive to deliver a 'crushing response' to those Western Nations (US and Israel) for positioning their missile shield in Poland, Apparently Russia has also notified Norway that Russia is now cutting all ties to NATO, and has warned the Western Military Alliance that it will not tolerate the rearming of Georgia.
********************************
Another big piece of news is the resignation of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s beleaguered prime minister, who many believe was simply an American puppet. He resigned so he wouldn’t be impeached, as the Coalition was calling for. Word was he was trying to negotiate a deal that if he resigned he wouldn’t be tried as a war criminal. Here’s what the American State Department has to say about Musharraf:
Pakistani President Resigns
Secretary Rice (Aug. 18): "President Musharraf has been a friend to the United States and one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism. ...We will continue to work with the Pakistani government and political leaders...to see Pakistan reach its goal of becoming a stable, prosperous, democratic, modern, Muslim nation."
**
Nigeria military chiefs dismissed
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has dismissed the country's chief of the defence staff together with the heads of the army and navy.
*****************************************
This article is an interesting one and sheds a light on the motivations of puppet leaders around the World. It’s kind of a no brainer that these “world leaders” have sold their nations and people out for the almighty buck, but I’m not sure if we understand the immensity of that fire sale. In a prescient way it brings us back to our domestic leadership. It’s been long known that Stephen Harper was simply an American hack and puppet, moving us closer to our demise as a sovereign nation and a complete erosion of our civil and human rights. I now suspect this is much further along than even those of us who’ve been long been aware of the steady increase in “deep integration.”
I think even at a provincial level maybe we need to link the fast track to political suicide Gordon Campbell has been on in the last while. Most of BC is just reeling from things like the carbon tax and the latest insane and unwarranted pay raises to well fed Deputy Ministers, ADM’s and senior bureaucrats.
Most people are expressing outrage and many of us are trying to wrap our brains around how he would do such a thing with an election only a scant 9 months away. But, I think it’s time we begin to situate Campbell and the BC Liberals conduct squarely as allies and underlings of the massive steamroller that is squashing all of us in the name of global domination. Campbell sure seems to be acting like a man who isn’t too worried about his future and His Majesty is acting benevolently toward his faithful insiders at all of our expense with impunity. I learned long ago, when things don’t make sense, there is something I just don’t know yet, but someone else does.
It’s wild if you begin to look at the common patterns. All of these “installed” leaders have sold out their own people, hook, line and sinker. Some are called War Criminals, or War mongers, committing war and treason against their own citizens. It is beyond my comprehension that people would engage in these kinds of things simply for greed.
So, the question becomes, are we going to survive this unceasing and greed for global domination? Because the most alarmist reports are saying we are rapidly heading toward World War III and it is starting to look that way to more than a few of us armchair observers. The sabers are rattling, against Russia, against Iran. Unwinnable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. China’s hands won’t be tied forever, the Olympics are almost over. I guess it was quite a clever bit of strategy to award these summer Olympics to keep them busy and occupied.
With groups like the National Endowment for Democracy, offering “grants” for the “strengthening of democratic institutions” around the world, is it any wonder that we are rapidly heading toward a showdown some of us might not live through? We’re already losing far too many courageous soldiers and others who deserve so much better. And a life.
I don’t know about you, but I’m rather fond of living and want a safe world for our children to grow up in. Another Cold War, or nuclear war is not even on my list of things to do. In the West, we still live in vaguely democratic nations, so I can only hope and encourage all of us to work together and fight the real enemies, not the shadows and illusions created to deflect from who we really need to get rid of.
We need to start getting out into the streets and raising our voices against this oppression. In BC and Canada, we have some elections coming up and we need to get involved. If the traditional left parties aren’t up to the job, as they seem to have been kneecapped by the neo-cons too, we need to back candidates who are there to fight for our rights and needs. This is no time for half-assed, or namby-pamby leaders. Our world and lives are going to be at stake very soon and we need to elect the best people to help us all. I don’t know about you, but someday, if the children I know ask me what I did to fight for the World, I want to be able to tell them what I did so they could have a future.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Upping the Ante While Rome Burns
Some edited comments from Bill Tieleman's Article:
Outrageous pay raises to senior BC Liberal government bureaucrats redefines Gordon Campbell arrogance
Bill Tieleman’s 24 Hours Column
Tuesday August 12, 2008
The NDP and the labour community have some of the finest media and communications artists and brightest minds and strategists around. And campaign organizers. There is something stopping them from lighting a fire under the party and I think we should all ask ourselves what? This is their election to lose and a lot of us don't want that to happen, unless they are going to be just as bad as the Liberals.
The truth cannot be evaded though, the next administration is going to have a nightmare of epic proportions to deal with. The cookie jar is almost empty, the full truth of where all the money has gone has yet to be told. Fires burning all around. The public service is being decimated by so many people quitting, being forced out and not represented by their union/the NDP, who could perhaps be the next boss.
It is quite absurd to totally lay the responsibility of the failure of the NDP to be making a big splash on Carole James. All parties, or even most organizations, take their primary leadership from executives who are supposedly "elected" to the board. Although portrayed as democratic, this is often a corrupted process, with nomination meetings being stacked. Or there might be a little covert intimidation by those in office, the status quo men, or their little hench people, to stifle less well known, or less popular candidates for the executive from throwing their hat in the ring.
Whether it's the Liberals, the NDP, the Greens, the labour council, or the board of directors, politics are politics and sometimes the people who look like the leader aren't really calling the shots. Carole James is a leader and a role model to many. She just may be part of something most of us can't even begin to understand.
It cannot escape all of our attention that many organizations are growing perverse, corrupt and brutalizing. Check these stories out for more proof:
Prince George's top cop ordered to apologize to city workers
Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun. Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008
Embattled police chief resigns, mystery lingers
Investigation turned up no criminal wrongdoing, mayor says; Battershill had been on leave since October over misconduct allegations
Rob Shaw, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008
This article is a perfect example of “stacking the deck” or the Board.
Cosy Business Ties Exposed by Health Budget Turmoil
BC's Health Authorities: Who gets hired (and fired).
By Will McMartin. Published: January 31, 2007. TheTyee.ca
*******
Listen up: I am issuing a personal challenge to all media artists, activists, writers, bloggers and journalists out there to break out and start using their mad skillz, gifts and talents to help expose the mofos to our citizens and help win BC back for all of us. It is OUR province and we want it back. We can do this, it is within our reach and we have the ability to do this together.
Outrageous pay raises to senior BC Liberal government bureaucrats redefines Gordon Campbell arrogance
Bill Tieleman’s 24 Hours Column
Tuesday August 12, 2008
The NDP and the labour community have some of the finest media and communications artists and brightest minds and strategists around. And campaign organizers. There is something stopping them from lighting a fire under the party and I think we should all ask ourselves what? This is their election to lose and a lot of us don't want that to happen, unless they are going to be just as bad as the Liberals.
The truth cannot be evaded though, the next administration is going to have a nightmare of epic proportions to deal with. The cookie jar is almost empty, the full truth of where all the money has gone has yet to be told. Fires burning all around. The public service is being decimated by so many people quitting, being forced out and not represented by their union/the NDP, who could perhaps be the next boss.
It is quite absurd to totally lay the responsibility of the failure of the NDP to be making a big splash on Carole James. All parties, or even most organizations, take their primary leadership from executives who are supposedly "elected" to the board. Although portrayed as democratic, this is often a corrupted process, with nomination meetings being stacked. Or there might be a little covert intimidation by those in office, the status quo men, or their little hench people, to stifle less well known, or less popular candidates for the executive from throwing their hat in the ring.
Whether it's the Liberals, the NDP, the Greens, the labour council, or the board of directors, politics are politics and sometimes the people who look like the leader aren't really calling the shots. Carole James is a leader and a role model to many. She just may be part of something most of us can't even begin to understand.
It cannot escape all of our attention that many organizations are growing perverse, corrupt and brutalizing. Check these stories out for more proof:
Prince George's top cop ordered to apologize to city workers
Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun. Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008
Embattled police chief resigns, mystery lingers
Investigation turned up no criminal wrongdoing, mayor says; Battershill had been on leave since October over misconduct allegations
Rob Shaw, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008
This article is a perfect example of “stacking the deck” or the Board.
Cosy Business Ties Exposed by Health Budget Turmoil
BC's Health Authorities: Who gets hired (and fired).
By Will McMartin. Published: January 31, 2007. TheTyee.ca
*******
Listen up: I am issuing a personal challenge to all media artists, activists, writers, bloggers and journalists out there to break out and start using their mad skillz, gifts and talents to help expose the mofos to our citizens and help win BC back for all of us. It is OUR province and we want it back. We can do this, it is within our reach and we have the ability to do this together.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Whistleblowing: The Risk Management Tool of the Future?
N.B. introduces whistleblower legislation
Last Updated: Thursday, November 29, 2007 | 8:41 AM AT
CBC News
The New Brunswick provincial government introduced legislation Wednesday that will prevent employees from being punished if they blow the whistle on bosses and colleagues who are breaking laws.
Human Resources Minister Wally Stiles said he hopes the new law won't have to be used very often, but if civil servants spot something wrong, they will be able to report it to a supervisor or the province's conflict of interest commissioner without fear of punishment.
"In the act itself, there is full protection for that civil servant to actually come forward, and whether he chooses to give [his] name or not, he can work that out with the conflict of interest commissioner."
The Public Interest Disclosure Act covers crimes, mismanagement of public funds and actions that create a health or safety risk to the public or the environment.
Beyond civil servants in government departments, the bill will also protect employees of hospital authorities, school boards and Crown corporations, including NB Power.
"I need to applaud this government for stepping forward and presenting this bill," said Tom Mann, executive director of the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees.
Mann said he has dealt with government workers who wanted to report a problem but were too scared to do so.
"This bill, what I see in it is an opportunity for the public good to be protected," Mann said.
The act will make a more accountable and open government, Stiles said.
***************
Bill 8: Public Interest Disclosure Act
New Brunswick
Disclosure of Wrongdoing
Wrongdoings to which this Act applies
3 This Act applies to the following wrongdoings in or relating to the public service:
(a) an act or omission constituting an offence under an Act of the Legislature or the Parliament of Canada, or a regulation made under an Act;
(b) an act or omission that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of the duties or functions of an employee;
(c) gross mismanagement, including of public funds or a public asset;
(d) knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing described in paragraphs (a) to (c).
****************************
Now, I'm pretty happy when any jurisdiction sees fit to enact Whistleblower legislation, but to my eye, this is flawed right from the get go due to the language of sub-section b.
It's sad that this has to be explained, but many whistleblowers, union reps, advocates, or just plain workers are subjected to "danger" in their course of duties precisely because their employers (sometimes governments) are guilty of negligence and wrongdoing in the first place. Can someone explain to me why in 2008 workers, no matter what level they are at, why dangerous, negligent and high-risk occupations are exempted from employers from safety? I've worked in high-risk occupations, I know many others who work in them as well. Many of these people are the real heroes in our society. Why do they deserve less coverage and concern for the "danger" they experience "on the job" where they are often helping create safety and wellbeing for others.
Having also seen what passes for "internal investigations" of wrongdoing, the authorities might want to get a bit more serious about this and actually have people who are trained to do more than push paper.
Again, the point is, employers, governments and legislators better wake up & smell the fair trade brewing, there are not enough people left to fill the seats you need to fill, you better start making safety and justice a priority for ALL WORKERS.
It's as simple as this: the rot and stench of "wrongdoing" and corruption is deep in many levels of government and in many organizations. Most workers smell it daily and most learn to turn a blind eye for their own health, because they need their jobs to shelter & feed their families. Until governments and organizations get serious at changing their protective and insular organizational cultures and get rid of the rotten fruit, no amount of legislation, or policies are going to improve things. And, at the end of the day, organizations of all sizes will fail miserably because of their unwillingness to clean house, because younger workers just won't stay and they will slag the organization to everyone they know. Risk management for the new millenium looks very different than it did in the past and it's time people woke up to that.
Last Updated: Thursday, November 29, 2007 | 8:41 AM AT
CBC News
The New Brunswick provincial government introduced legislation Wednesday that will prevent employees from being punished if they blow the whistle on bosses and colleagues who are breaking laws.
Human Resources Minister Wally Stiles said he hopes the new law won't have to be used very often, but if civil servants spot something wrong, they will be able to report it to a supervisor or the province's conflict of interest commissioner without fear of punishment.
"In the act itself, there is full protection for that civil servant to actually come forward, and whether he chooses to give [his] name or not, he can work that out with the conflict of interest commissioner."
The Public Interest Disclosure Act covers crimes, mismanagement of public funds and actions that create a health or safety risk to the public or the environment.
Beyond civil servants in government departments, the bill will also protect employees of hospital authorities, school boards and Crown corporations, including NB Power.
"I need to applaud this government for stepping forward and presenting this bill," said Tom Mann, executive director of the New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees.
Mann said he has dealt with government workers who wanted to report a problem but were too scared to do so.
"This bill, what I see in it is an opportunity for the public good to be protected," Mann said.
The act will make a more accountable and open government, Stiles said.
***************
Bill 8: Public Interest Disclosure Act
New Brunswick
Disclosure of Wrongdoing
Wrongdoings to which this Act applies
3 This Act applies to the following wrongdoings in or relating to the public service:
(a) an act or omission constituting an offence under an Act of the Legislature or the Parliament of Canada, or a regulation made under an Act;
(b) an act or omission that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of the duties or functions of an employee;
(c) gross mismanagement, including of public funds or a public asset;
(d) knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing described in paragraphs (a) to (c).
****************************
Now, I'm pretty happy when any jurisdiction sees fit to enact Whistleblower legislation, but to my eye, this is flawed right from the get go due to the language of sub-section b.
It's sad that this has to be explained, but many whistleblowers, union reps, advocates, or just plain workers are subjected to "danger" in their course of duties precisely because their employers (sometimes governments) are guilty of negligence and wrongdoing in the first place. Can someone explain to me why in 2008 workers, no matter what level they are at, why dangerous, negligent and high-risk occupations are exempted from employers from safety? I've worked in high-risk occupations, I know many others who work in them as well. Many of these people are the real heroes in our society. Why do they deserve less coverage and concern for the "danger" they experience "on the job" where they are often helping create safety and wellbeing for others.
Having also seen what passes for "internal investigations" of wrongdoing, the authorities might want to get a bit more serious about this and actually have people who are trained to do more than push paper.
Again, the point is, employers, governments and legislators better wake up & smell the fair trade brewing, there are not enough people left to fill the seats you need to fill, you better start making safety and justice a priority for ALL WORKERS.
It's as simple as this: the rot and stench of "wrongdoing" and corruption is deep in many levels of government and in many organizations. Most workers smell it daily and most learn to turn a blind eye for their own health, because they need their jobs to shelter & feed their families. Until governments and organizations get serious at changing their protective and insular organizational cultures and get rid of the rotten fruit, no amount of legislation, or policies are going to improve things. And, at the end of the day, organizations of all sizes will fail miserably because of their unwillingness to clean house, because younger workers just won't stay and they will slag the organization to everyone they know. Risk management for the new millenium looks very different than it did in the past and it's time people woke up to that.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Global Cull List?
Who would have thought being a scientist would turn into one of the more high-risk occupations of the world? Although admittedly, I am probably quite ignorant, or naïve about it all. But, if one is to examine the numbers of scientists and other high level global players who appear to be succumbing to suicides, murders and “mysterious illnesses” over the past few years I would say the sciences have shot to the top of the heap in risky business and there appears to quite a bit of danger lurking around the corners these days in the geopolitical realm.
Take the strange and terrifying case of Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, biochemistry students and specialists who were in England working in infectious diseases and environmental engineering. They were both found in their flat bound, gagged, tortured and beaten repeatedly with a blunt object, then stabbed hundreds of times, pre and post mortem. Mr. Bonomo was reported to have been stabbed 196 times, Ferez, 50 times and both were then set on fire. Bonomo had been working on investigating the deadly H5N1 Avian Flu Virus at London’s Imperial College. An interesting incident preceding these horrors was the theft of Mr. Bonomo’s laptop the previous week. One wonders what might have been found on that and whether it had anything to do with his subsequent demise?
Some media reports state that Siti Fadillah Supari, the Indonesian Health Minister, is reported to be calling for the closure of the United States Naval Medical Research Unit 2
(NAMRU-2), which has been located in Indonesia for the past 40 years. It is at this site that a great deal of bioengineering research has been conducted by the US on infectious diseases from Southeast Asia. Indonesian government officials have linked the fact that their country has experienced the hardest hit of any other and a number of deaths of citizens due to Avian flu to the American research facility. Interestingly, Indonesian citizens who came down with the virus refused to turn over their samples to the American’s. Instead, their samples were sent to the French research facility that Mr. Bonomo worked at as a student, Inserm Medical Institute, prior to his studies in London.
According to some reports, over the last 4 years, approximately 80 of the world’s top researchers in infectious diseases and bird flu have been murdered, committed suicide, died of natural causes, or died under tragic and mysterious circumstances.
There have been so many deaths of top scientific researchers that some clever souls (or reckless, depends on where you sit) began to tally them. Most were top-level bio-engineers, chemists, nuclear power scientists and experts in their fields of science. Some worked in infectious diseases and many have died violent deaths, or of unknown causes all around the world. Some simply disappeared, were in crashes, shot, committed suicide. Some of these folks had high-level security clearance due to the projects they worked on. Many the murders were never solved and/or circumstances of death were never fully understood by authorities.
Certainly it seems a bit far-fetched that all of these deaths, or other occurrences, are part of some grand conspiracy, but it does lend one to raise an eyebrow about it all.
Not knowing virtually anything about bioterrorism, I would guess that this area has long been a burgeoning one in the geopolitical landscape. The stakes are so high for nuclear war, I would imagine being able to have a Plan B (or maybe that is the real Plan A) to rattle at adversaries is a more effective threat in a global race to … I keep trying to figure out what exactly is the BIG prize? It eludes me. All the money in the world? Water? Oil? Sure that’s all of it, the wealth of all of the world in the hands of a few. Okay, so they’ve virtually got it locked up. Now what?
From all of “us” to all of “you” – YOU WIN!!!! Now stop and go away to count your billions while the rest of “us” help the world survive. Because that old cliché still counts – you can’t take it with you, no matter how much you want to. And as far as I’m aware, we haven’t yet found the secret of immortality, just ask Jesse Helms.
Top French Bird Flu Researcher Brutally Murdered In London
By: Sorcha Faal. July 4 2008.
2 French Students Stabbed, Burned In UK
London Police Appeal For Witnesses To Help Solve Murder Of Two French Grad Students
****************************************************
Busy time in old Londontown? Alex Allan, being a “spy chief” probably would be considered as having a much more high-risk occupation. This is one guy who knows where the skeletons are all over the globe. Interestingly, some media report that he was found with blood “everywhere” others, quoting “government sources” say “there is no sign of foul play… no police involvement, or concern for the reason” for his hospitalization. Some are spinning this as a case of pneumonia, with blood coughed up. He was found unconscious and has had a “battery of tests,” no official diagnoses yet.
Keep in mind this is the fellow who is the Chairperson of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC). His job is collecting information from members of the Security Service, MI5, the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, and Government Communications Headquarters who sit on the committee and relaying it to the Prime Minister of England (and whomever else is involved). He’s only been on the job for a year and I suspect it’s been quite a year. If one were to speculate, he might make a pretty good target these days for a little biochemical “gift” to shut him up. And I’m pretty sure the Powers that Be in the UK (and elsewhere) might want to keep that under their hats.
The timing of Mr. Allan’s collapse is interesting, what with some serious reports of the “healthy numbers” of Russian operatives in the UK. It’s a curiosity whether Mr. Allan was going to be urging some action on that and perhaps using his position to bump up the resources of M15, which is apparently so seriously underfunded and maxed out that UK security and intelligence work is suffering. Silly me, I would think that the UK, a veritable hot bed of Islamic terrorists, Russian espionage and quite likely a whole lot of other malevolent plotting from parties unknown might want to keep a well stocked cupboard at the ready. Maybe they’re counting on their American buddies to pick up the slack? But it seems they’re spread pretty thin these days too and possibly will be even more in the dark days I fear are coming. I’m just an armchair observer around this geodome, but something sure doesn’t smell right about any of it.
Spy chief Alex Allan found with 'blood everywhere'
Britain's leading spymaster, who is in a coma after apparently being struck down by a mystery illness, was found covered in blood, according to a tenant.
By Rupert Neate. 06/07/2008. The Telegraph.
Take the strange and terrifying case of Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, biochemistry students and specialists who were in England working in infectious diseases and environmental engineering. They were both found in their flat bound, gagged, tortured and beaten repeatedly with a blunt object, then stabbed hundreds of times, pre and post mortem. Mr. Bonomo was reported to have been stabbed 196 times, Ferez, 50 times and both were then set on fire. Bonomo had been working on investigating the deadly H5N1 Avian Flu Virus at London’s Imperial College. An interesting incident preceding these horrors was the theft of Mr. Bonomo’s laptop the previous week. One wonders what might have been found on that and whether it had anything to do with his subsequent demise?
Some media reports state that Siti Fadillah Supari, the Indonesian Health Minister, is reported to be calling for the closure of the United States Naval Medical Research Unit 2
(NAMRU-2), which has been located in Indonesia for the past 40 years. It is at this site that a great deal of bioengineering research has been conducted by the US on infectious diseases from Southeast Asia. Indonesian government officials have linked the fact that their country has experienced the hardest hit of any other and a number of deaths of citizens due to Avian flu to the American research facility. Interestingly, Indonesian citizens who came down with the virus refused to turn over their samples to the American’s. Instead, their samples were sent to the French research facility that Mr. Bonomo worked at as a student, Inserm Medical Institute, prior to his studies in London.
According to some reports, over the last 4 years, approximately 80 of the world’s top researchers in infectious diseases and bird flu have been murdered, committed suicide, died of natural causes, or died under tragic and mysterious circumstances.
There have been so many deaths of top scientific researchers that some clever souls (or reckless, depends on where you sit) began to tally them. Most were top-level bio-engineers, chemists, nuclear power scientists and experts in their fields of science. Some worked in infectious diseases and many have died violent deaths, or of unknown causes all around the world. Some simply disappeared, were in crashes, shot, committed suicide. Some of these folks had high-level security clearance due to the projects they worked on. Many the murders were never solved and/or circumstances of death were never fully understood by authorities.
Certainly it seems a bit far-fetched that all of these deaths, or other occurrences, are part of some grand conspiracy, but it does lend one to raise an eyebrow about it all.
Not knowing virtually anything about bioterrorism, I would guess that this area has long been a burgeoning one in the geopolitical landscape. The stakes are so high for nuclear war, I would imagine being able to have a Plan B (or maybe that is the real Plan A) to rattle at adversaries is a more effective threat in a global race to … I keep trying to figure out what exactly is the BIG prize? It eludes me. All the money in the world? Water? Oil? Sure that’s all of it, the wealth of all of the world in the hands of a few. Okay, so they’ve virtually got it locked up. Now what?
From all of “us” to all of “you” – YOU WIN!!!! Now stop and go away to count your billions while the rest of “us” help the world survive. Because that old cliché still counts – you can’t take it with you, no matter how much you want to. And as far as I’m aware, we haven’t yet found the secret of immortality, just ask Jesse Helms.
Top French Bird Flu Researcher Brutally Murdered In London
By: Sorcha Faal. July 4 2008.
2 French Students Stabbed, Burned In UK
London Police Appeal For Witnesses To Help Solve Murder Of Two French Grad Students
****************************************************
Busy time in old Londontown? Alex Allan, being a “spy chief” probably would be considered as having a much more high-risk occupation. This is one guy who knows where the skeletons are all over the globe. Interestingly, some media report that he was found with blood “everywhere” others, quoting “government sources” say “there is no sign of foul play… no police involvement, or concern for the reason” for his hospitalization. Some are spinning this as a case of pneumonia, with blood coughed up. He was found unconscious and has had a “battery of tests,” no official diagnoses yet.
Keep in mind this is the fellow who is the Chairperson of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC). His job is collecting information from members of the Security Service, MI5, the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, and Government Communications Headquarters who sit on the committee and relaying it to the Prime Minister of England (and whomever else is involved). He’s only been on the job for a year and I suspect it’s been quite a year. If one were to speculate, he might make a pretty good target these days for a little biochemical “gift” to shut him up. And I’m pretty sure the Powers that Be in the UK (and elsewhere) might want to keep that under their hats.
The timing of Mr. Allan’s collapse is interesting, what with some serious reports of the “healthy numbers” of Russian operatives in the UK. It’s a curiosity whether Mr. Allan was going to be urging some action on that and perhaps using his position to bump up the resources of M15, which is apparently so seriously underfunded and maxed out that UK security and intelligence work is suffering. Silly me, I would think that the UK, a veritable hot bed of Islamic terrorists, Russian espionage and quite likely a whole lot of other malevolent plotting from parties unknown might want to keep a well stocked cupboard at the ready. Maybe they’re counting on their American buddies to pick up the slack? But it seems they’re spread pretty thin these days too and possibly will be even more in the dark days I fear are coming. I’m just an armchair observer around this geodome, but something sure doesn’t smell right about any of it.
Spy chief Alex Allan found with 'blood everywhere'
Britain's leading spymaster, who is in a coma after apparently being struck down by a mystery illness, was found covered in blood, according to a tenant.
By Rupert Neate. 06/07/2008. The Telegraph.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Disinformation, Manipulation & the Corporate Media
I’ve been thinking about the use of the corporate media as a machine of disinformation and in some cases, manipulation of the public. Those of us in the so-called “blogosphere,” particularly those of us who are involved in political blogging often identify ourselves as “citizen journalists.” I wonder if many of us become involved in blogging in part as a reaction to the corporatization and concentration of media. I know that was a major catalyst for me. In Canada, in some ways I think our very democracy is swinging in the breeze up on the hangman’s platform as we are all subjected to non-stop spin and manipulation by the mainstream media (or MSM as they’re called). Things didn’t use to be this way and in part, I blame the CRTC,
who are supposed to be looking out for the public’s interest. I fail to see that happening when they’ve allowed corporations to concentrate so much media and subsequent rulings seem to be quite encouraging of corporate media in their endeavours.
Undoubtedly an important book for many of us to check out is “Lies the Media Tell Us” by James Winter, a communications professor from the University of Windsor. I recently read a book review in the CCPA Monitor (yet one more reason that makes the CCPA an outstanding alternative to MSM) by Roy LaBerge in which Winter’s book is dissected and some of his most important points laid bare. I think it’s easy
for most of us to disconnect from the real business of news… advertising dollars. In his book, Winter relates the quote from a newspaper authority who says the news is “just the filler in between the ads.” The point being, advertisers can and do exert an incredible influence on media content of news. A local couple of examples spring to mind for me that reinforce this point in a real world way.
1. Consider for a moment the chill of the 2007 Black on Black story (Sean Holman’s Public Eye Online) about the story of Victoria News reporter Brennan Clarke and editor Keith Norbury getting a “talking to” from Black Press Ltd. British Columbia chief operating officer Rick O'Connor about "the impact a potential loss of advertising from the automotive sector" would have on the company. This, after the newspaper published a story about a cross-border car shopper. Those who followed the story, probably most of whom are journalists were deeply concerned about Mr. Clarke’s subsequent firing, which, of course, had nothing to do with writing that story, according to his employer. The most chilling piece to me is when Holman reports publisher, Penny Sakamoto and Island group president Mark Warner “meeting with the reporter, Brennan Clark, regional editor, Keith Norbury, and group editor Brian Lepine to express their concerns and explain the impact a potential loss of advertising from the automotive sector would have on these newspapers." As further explained by O’Connor, Holman continues:
“asked whether editorial staff need to consider the impact their stories have on advertising, Mr. O'Connor said, "No. But they need to understand that, if they don't have balance, then we're wide open to whatever criticisms come our way - whether it's related to advertising or not. In this case, the story was related to an advertising sector we're very strong in. And we took the brunt of their unhappiness" - referring to the fact advertising from the automotive sector dropped the week after Mr. Clarke's article was published. Brrrrr, it’s getting cold in here.
2. Thanks to another blogger, Gazetteer, I was recently happy to discover Harvey Oberfeld’s blog, Keeping It Real. Oberfeld, journalist extraordinaire with heaps of experience in print, television and other media, has now made the jump into the abyss of the blogosphere, much to the delight of many of us. Now he is unfettered by a corporate master and can really tell it like it is, with decades of experience about media in Canada. His most excellent story Vancouver Sun: When Propaganda Imitates News is a great introduction to what we can expect. In this story, Oberfeld minces no words, right out of the gate:
“Friday the 13th was indeed a really unlucky day for the Vancouver Sun … in terms of its vigilance aimed at protecting its journalistic integrity.” He goes on to write about how he caught the Sun in a bit of a piece of shameful media manipulation in cahoots with their buddies, the BC Liberals. Sharp Harvey caught the Sun in their Special Section entitled Doing Business in China. Purported to simply be a series of articles about the obvious, doing business in China, looking at trade policies and practices and how to best capitalize on the largely untapped frontier of China as a business entity and corporate wet dream. As Oberfeld notes:
“BUT there were also FOUR pages boldly proclaiming IN FOCUS and featuring no less than SIX photos of Premier Gordon Campbell (as if the two others on other pages were not enough!) along with riveting articles entitled “A message from Premier Gordon Campbell”, “A message from Minister Colin Hansen”, and “British Columbia and Canada in the Asia Pacific Region: building a shared and prosperous future”… But there it was, atop two beaming pictures of the Premier, a statement asserting ”This feature has been provided by The Vancouver Sun”. Apparently, propaganda was now news “feature” material … bought and paid for.”
After writing to the Executive Editor Valerie Casselton, the Sun’s big gun, Editor in Chief Patricia Graham confirms to Oberfeld that ooops, “FOUR PAGES OF THE SECTION WERE GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING, but the paper had mistakenly NOT said so.” Her explanation:
“The feature is advertising and should not have been labelled that way; it was a mistake. We have a policy that advertising features should be labelled so that they do not appear to be editorial; unfortunately human error in this case meant the policy was not followed.”
Now, what started me on this thread was not actually media manipulation per se, but the idea of media disinformation as a powerful and often overlooked geopolitical tool. I read A LOT of media, mainstream, alternative and “off the beaten path” stuff. Some of it even I find hard to believe, but I’ll tell you, having been perusing this for some time, I think even some of the most “out there” stuff has kernels of truth in it.
What really sparked this for me is the report this week of an incident in which the global MSM is reporting that an Israeli guard in the army committed suicide at the farewell meeting in Israel of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres. For those of us who follow geopolitics, Mr. Sarkozy has just been crowned the President of the European Union (EU), making him a global player and leader in the geopolitical realm. The corporate media disinformation, or spin begins, and I quote:
"This was in no way an assassination attempt," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, calling the incident a suicide.
To me, admittedly just a little armchair spectator in this safer part of the world, this whole thing just stinks of “covert operations.” Reading the various MSM reports, Sarkozy was in Israel offering to be a peace broker between Israel and Palestine, a key goal of the EU. He was there to pledge his allegiance to Israel and to tell Israel “that it is "not alone" in facing any threat posed by Iran's nuclear programme.” Anyone else hearing the rattling of a war drum that originates halfway around the world, or more particularly, from the shadowy men who have risen above mere nation states?
Contrast this MSM reporting with this from alternative media sources, who report clearly and on the ground, including interviews with the Israeli guards family that this was in fact an assassination attempt and the cover up was immediate. A couple of things stand out for me.
- The interviews with the family, if they can be believed, who are quite adamant that the guard did not in any way demonstrate a propensity, or risk of suicide. And with his military training, experience, level of security clearance and someone who was clearly positioned as he was (on top of a roof) is not likely to publically commit suicide. Anyone who has served in the military, or those of us who know police officers understand, they usually suffer in silence for a long time, demonstrate a few signs of depression, hopelessness or problems that are identified by family and friends, which is clearly not the case for this officer, as reported by the folks who see him daily and know him best. And anyone who demonstrates any kind of mental weakness, or causes any kind of concern is not going to get the kind of clearance this officer had for this operation. These folks don’t kill themselves in public, like most cops, or soldiers, their trauma and pain is locked up in shame and when they do decide to end it, they do it in isolation away from the public eye.
- Another piece, MSM reports he was killed by a rifle. Now, I know military types are talented, skillful folks and I’m no "CSI ammunition expert," but I’d like someone to explain to me how a highly trained and experienced Israeli military trained officer, in the middle of a high level international mission, is going to manage to shoot himself with a rifle?
- Another important piece to me is that there were reports that after the death of the officer, two female Israeli army officers were reported to have “fainted” and been taken by authorities, purportedly for medical assessment. Now, I haven’t spent any time in the military myself and I know anything is possible, but can someone explain to me how two Israeli military officers who have enough experience and high level security clearance to be involved in this international mission guarding the safety and wellbeing of the nation’s Prime Minister and president were so dainty and slight of heart that they “fainted” at the sight of their military brother’s demise? The Israeli’s make tough people, and although I know more about trauma than most, there isn’t enough ink that could be spilled in this world to convince me these military officers went to pieces like what was reported. The pandering reference to the “weaker” propensity of “female officers” to fall to pieces is just not credible at all. What’s much more likely to me is they were birds eye witnesses to what happened and were whisked away for a “debriefing” which including strong “encouragement” (some might say compelled) to report on the “official” version of events.
- A fourth but related piece of the puzzle is that one of the first and only global alternative media networks to report on the assassination attempt against Sarkozy, What Does it Mean, was subjected to what they describe as being “brought [us] nearly to our knees with some of the most vicious and sustained assaults upon our computer networks I’ve ever seen.” And not satisfied to just attack them, the hack extended to their networks, namely the Russian Gnostic sisters, specifically Sorcha Faal, who disseminates information and reports from Russia about geopolitical events. The fact that Faal just posted a story about the assassination attempt is no coincidence and clearly efforts were made to bring the site down and stop them from challenging the manipulation and dissemination of disinformation by the global corporate media, which has decided what the real story is.
As one who likes to speculate, who benefits from discord and war in the Middle East most? I’ll leave it to all of your imaginations to figure that one out. I figure by just writing this little piece and some of the other things I’ve written before has gotten me on some sort of dissident round up list. Perhaps it sounds like paranoia and aggrandizement, but if I am to believe my brother and sister citizen journalists and human rights activists around the world, those of us who offer alternatives to MSM and alternative analysis of geopolitical events are quite at-risk as the machinery of the New World rolls ever forward crushing anyone and anything that gets in their path.
Last time I went to the States my name was flagged and my entire vehicle was searched. I won’t be back. Might be a coincidence, random searches happen, but so do apprehensions of activists and those perceived to be dissidents. And under American law, anyone can be declared an "enemy of the state."
And as far as I can make of it, the Powers that Be are on a tight deadline here, November 2008 is coming quick and Western regime change stands all but confirmed by the voters, which has of course not stopped them in the past, but just in case, the Big Boys need to pull out all of the stops while they can.
I think it’s going to be a very hot summer in certain parts of the world, while domestically, the sleeping giant of North America’s citizenry grows more and more angry and filled with despair as they lose everything and look for fingers to point in someone's direction and begin to ask what their governments are doing to help them? That’s the real million-dollar question.
Media can keep spinning out stories about vapid, stupid and expendable Hollywood types, or whatever distractions and disinformation they want, but the carnage across the Americas and the useless savagery being done to our courageous forces serving around the world will grow too serious for the Silverbacks to ignore.
This is the story of the universe, the dog chasing its’ tale: the demons come, the fighting begins, the world is destroyed, to be created anew by the just, compassionate and humble once again.
Israeli guard kills self at Sarkozy farewell
Francois Murphy, Reuters. Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008
State-Sponsored Terror: British and American Black Ops in Iraq
By Andrew G. Marshall
Global Research, June 25, 2008
Gunshot starts panic as Sarkozy leaves Israel
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem. The Guardian, Wednesday June 25, 2008.
The Project for the New American Century
By William Rivers Pitt (02/25/03).
who are supposed to be looking out for the public’s interest. I fail to see that happening when they’ve allowed corporations to concentrate so much media and subsequent rulings seem to be quite encouraging of corporate media in their endeavours.
Undoubtedly an important book for many of us to check out is “Lies the Media Tell Us” by James Winter, a communications professor from the University of Windsor. I recently read a book review in the CCPA Monitor (yet one more reason that makes the CCPA an outstanding alternative to MSM) by Roy LaBerge in which Winter’s book is dissected and some of his most important points laid bare. I think it’s easy
for most of us to disconnect from the real business of news… advertising dollars. In his book, Winter relates the quote from a newspaper authority who says the news is “just the filler in between the ads.” The point being, advertisers can and do exert an incredible influence on media content of news. A local couple of examples spring to mind for me that reinforce this point in a real world way.
1. Consider for a moment the chill of the 2007 Black on Black story (Sean Holman’s Public Eye Online) about the story of Victoria News reporter Brennan Clarke and editor Keith Norbury getting a “talking to” from Black Press Ltd. British Columbia chief operating officer Rick O'Connor about "the impact a potential loss of advertising from the automotive sector" would have on the company. This, after the newspaper published a story about a cross-border car shopper. Those who followed the story, probably most of whom are journalists were deeply concerned about Mr. Clarke’s subsequent firing, which, of course, had nothing to do with writing that story, according to his employer. The most chilling piece to me is when Holman reports publisher, Penny Sakamoto and Island group president Mark Warner “meeting with the reporter, Brennan Clark, regional editor, Keith Norbury, and group editor Brian Lepine to express their concerns and explain the impact a potential loss of advertising from the automotive sector would have on these newspapers." As further explained by O’Connor, Holman continues:
“asked whether editorial staff need to consider the impact their stories have on advertising, Mr. O'Connor said, "No. But they need to understand that, if they don't have balance, then we're wide open to whatever criticisms come our way - whether it's related to advertising or not. In this case, the story was related to an advertising sector we're very strong in. And we took the brunt of their unhappiness" - referring to the fact advertising from the automotive sector dropped the week after Mr. Clarke's article was published. Brrrrr, it’s getting cold in here.
2. Thanks to another blogger, Gazetteer, I was recently happy to discover Harvey Oberfeld’s blog, Keeping It Real. Oberfeld, journalist extraordinaire with heaps of experience in print, television and other media, has now made the jump into the abyss of the blogosphere, much to the delight of many of us. Now he is unfettered by a corporate master and can really tell it like it is, with decades of experience about media in Canada. His most excellent story Vancouver Sun: When Propaganda Imitates News is a great introduction to what we can expect. In this story, Oberfeld minces no words, right out of the gate:
“Friday the 13th was indeed a really unlucky day for the Vancouver Sun … in terms of its vigilance aimed at protecting its journalistic integrity.” He goes on to write about how he caught the Sun in a bit of a piece of shameful media manipulation in cahoots with their buddies, the BC Liberals. Sharp Harvey caught the Sun in their Special Section entitled Doing Business in China. Purported to simply be a series of articles about the obvious, doing business in China, looking at trade policies and practices and how to best capitalize on the largely untapped frontier of China as a business entity and corporate wet dream. As Oberfeld notes:
“BUT there were also FOUR pages boldly proclaiming IN FOCUS and featuring no less than SIX photos of Premier Gordon Campbell (as if the two others on other pages were not enough!) along with riveting articles entitled “A message from Premier Gordon Campbell”, “A message from Minister Colin Hansen”, and “British Columbia and Canada in the Asia Pacific Region: building a shared and prosperous future”… But there it was, atop two beaming pictures of the Premier, a statement asserting ”This feature has been provided by The Vancouver Sun”. Apparently, propaganda was now news “feature” material … bought and paid for.”
After writing to the Executive Editor Valerie Casselton, the Sun’s big gun, Editor in Chief Patricia Graham confirms to Oberfeld that ooops, “FOUR PAGES OF THE SECTION WERE GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING, but the paper had mistakenly NOT said so.” Her explanation:
“The feature is advertising and should not have been labelled that way; it was a mistake. We have a policy that advertising features should be labelled so that they do not appear to be editorial; unfortunately human error in this case meant the policy was not followed.”
Now, what started me on this thread was not actually media manipulation per se, but the idea of media disinformation as a powerful and often overlooked geopolitical tool. I read A LOT of media, mainstream, alternative and “off the beaten path” stuff. Some of it even I find hard to believe, but I’ll tell you, having been perusing this for some time, I think even some of the most “out there” stuff has kernels of truth in it.
What really sparked this for me is the report this week of an incident in which the global MSM is reporting that an Israeli guard in the army committed suicide at the farewell meeting in Israel of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President Shimon Peres. For those of us who follow geopolitics, Mr. Sarkozy has just been crowned the President of the European Union (EU), making him a global player and leader in the geopolitical realm. The corporate media disinformation, or spin begins, and I quote:
"This was in no way an assassination attempt," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, calling the incident a suicide.
To me, admittedly just a little armchair spectator in this safer part of the world, this whole thing just stinks of “covert operations.” Reading the various MSM reports, Sarkozy was in Israel offering to be a peace broker between Israel and Palestine, a key goal of the EU. He was there to pledge his allegiance to Israel and to tell Israel “that it is "not alone" in facing any threat posed by Iran's nuclear programme.” Anyone else hearing the rattling of a war drum that originates halfway around the world, or more particularly, from the shadowy men who have risen above mere nation states?
Contrast this MSM reporting with this from alternative media sources, who report clearly and on the ground, including interviews with the Israeli guards family that this was in fact an assassination attempt and the cover up was immediate. A couple of things stand out for me.
- The interviews with the family, if they can be believed, who are quite adamant that the guard did not in any way demonstrate a propensity, or risk of suicide. And with his military training, experience, level of security clearance and someone who was clearly positioned as he was (on top of a roof) is not likely to publically commit suicide. Anyone who has served in the military, or those of us who know police officers understand, they usually suffer in silence for a long time, demonstrate a few signs of depression, hopelessness or problems that are identified by family and friends, which is clearly not the case for this officer, as reported by the folks who see him daily and know him best. And anyone who demonstrates any kind of mental weakness, or causes any kind of concern is not going to get the kind of clearance this officer had for this operation. These folks don’t kill themselves in public, like most cops, or soldiers, their trauma and pain is locked up in shame and when they do decide to end it, they do it in isolation away from the public eye.
- Another piece, MSM reports he was killed by a rifle. Now, I know military types are talented, skillful folks and I’m no "CSI ammunition expert," but I’d like someone to explain to me how a highly trained and experienced Israeli military trained officer, in the middle of a high level international mission, is going to manage to shoot himself with a rifle?
- Another important piece to me is that there were reports that after the death of the officer, two female Israeli army officers were reported to have “fainted” and been taken by authorities, purportedly for medical assessment. Now, I haven’t spent any time in the military myself and I know anything is possible, but can someone explain to me how two Israeli military officers who have enough experience and high level security clearance to be involved in this international mission guarding the safety and wellbeing of the nation’s Prime Minister and president were so dainty and slight of heart that they “fainted” at the sight of their military brother’s demise? The Israeli’s make tough people, and although I know more about trauma than most, there isn’t enough ink that could be spilled in this world to convince me these military officers went to pieces like what was reported. The pandering reference to the “weaker” propensity of “female officers” to fall to pieces is just not credible at all. What’s much more likely to me is they were birds eye witnesses to what happened and were whisked away for a “debriefing” which including strong “encouragement” (some might say compelled) to report on the “official” version of events.
- A fourth but related piece of the puzzle is that one of the first and only global alternative media networks to report on the assassination attempt against Sarkozy, What Does it Mean, was subjected to what they describe as being “brought [us] nearly to our knees with some of the most vicious and sustained assaults upon our computer networks I’ve ever seen.” And not satisfied to just attack them, the hack extended to their networks, namely the Russian Gnostic sisters, specifically Sorcha Faal, who disseminates information and reports from Russia about geopolitical events. The fact that Faal just posted a story about the assassination attempt is no coincidence and clearly efforts were made to bring the site down and stop them from challenging the manipulation and dissemination of disinformation by the global corporate media, which has decided what the real story is.
As one who likes to speculate, who benefits from discord and war in the Middle East most? I’ll leave it to all of your imaginations to figure that one out. I figure by just writing this little piece and some of the other things I’ve written before has gotten me on some sort of dissident round up list. Perhaps it sounds like paranoia and aggrandizement, but if I am to believe my brother and sister citizen journalists and human rights activists around the world, those of us who offer alternatives to MSM and alternative analysis of geopolitical events are quite at-risk as the machinery of the New World rolls ever forward crushing anyone and anything that gets in their path.
Last time I went to the States my name was flagged and my entire vehicle was searched. I won’t be back. Might be a coincidence, random searches happen, but so do apprehensions of activists and those perceived to be dissidents. And under American law, anyone can be declared an "enemy of the state."
And as far as I can make of it, the Powers that Be are on a tight deadline here, November 2008 is coming quick and Western regime change stands all but confirmed by the voters, which has of course not stopped them in the past, but just in case, the Big Boys need to pull out all of the stops while they can.
I think it’s going to be a very hot summer in certain parts of the world, while domestically, the sleeping giant of North America’s citizenry grows more and more angry and filled with despair as they lose everything and look for fingers to point in someone's direction and begin to ask what their governments are doing to help them? That’s the real million-dollar question.
Media can keep spinning out stories about vapid, stupid and expendable Hollywood types, or whatever distractions and disinformation they want, but the carnage across the Americas and the useless savagery being done to our courageous forces serving around the world will grow too serious for the Silverbacks to ignore.
This is the story of the universe, the dog chasing its’ tale: the demons come, the fighting begins, the world is destroyed, to be created anew by the just, compassionate and humble once again.
Israeli guard kills self at Sarkozy farewell
Francois Murphy, Reuters. Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008
State-Sponsored Terror: British and American Black Ops in Iraq
By Andrew G. Marshall
Global Research, June 25, 2008
Gunshot starts panic as Sarkozy leaves Israel
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem. The Guardian, Wednesday June 25, 2008.
The Project for the New American Century
By William Rivers Pitt (02/25/03).
Thursday, June 26, 2008
10 Easy Steps to Losing An Election: Brought to You by the NDP
NDP: Now is the time to send us $100
Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008
The NDP has a helpful suggestion on how to spend your $100 climate action cheque.
Give it to them.
In a "Dear Friend" e-mail to supporters, NDP environment critic Shane Simpson urges people to make their "gas tax rebate count" by funneling it to his party.
******
This just proves that the NDP are actually as frighteningly clued out as the Liberals. Who in their right mind okayed this grab of the Climate Change “dividend?” Whoever it is should be banished and muzzled. This whole thing begs the question, does the NDP actually want to be elected as the majority party in May 2009? This foolish stunt tells us no, in fact they don’t.
If the NDP brain trust couldn’t figure out this would be leaked and the optics of it when it was, then they are quite simply too stupid to be our next majority government. Because, like the Liberals, it’s these Backroom Silverbacks that are going to be the ones coming up with government policy and direction. If we were a conspiracy minded type, we might actually think the NDP actually wants the party to lose the next election. Although they have a nice leader(certainly a nicer one than the Liberals) Carole James is just not believable as a strong leader and the party continually present confusing, ill advised or half-baked platforms and ideas. Talk to anyone on the street (who isn’t an NDP insider) and they would not be able to say a thing about what the NDP actually stands for anymore, or what better solutions they have to offer. And that’s a PRETTY BIG problem considering they will be involved in an election in less than 18 months.
It’s this insular “inner circle” party thinking that helped kill Sam Sullivan’s career as mayor of Vancouver and that was a humiliating defeat. To recount, the sitting mayor lost the nomination for mayor in the next election of his own party. Talk about a non-confidence vote. He and his insiders on the executive did what they could to smear his opponent, yet, at the end of the day, he still lost. And he lost because he was out of touch with his party and his style of leadership was so exclusive, insular, insulting and full of dirty pool that he couldn’t even win the support of a majority of his membership. As on aside, I really hope the neophytes who were cheerleaders to him learned their lesson over this. Their open and public adoration and support for someone who shot himself and his whole party in the foot (with the public) sends a loud message about their insight and judgment. Be a little more diplomatic, rise above it all folks, or, get your head out of your @$$ if you want to play this game and not look like an idiot and have to do some major butt kissing to the new boss to stay in the game.
I think it’s time for the NDP to take a long, cold, brave look at themselves and where they are heading (into the rocks if they don’t smarten up). They fail to understand they do not own the hearts and minds of voters in BC, even on the left or in the labour movement. BTW, their shill (the BCGEU) has engendered a serious bunch of ill will in the labour community over their foolish actions over the last couple of years so that is something to strongly consider and the labour community as a whole is going to question what the NDP has done for them and since they could be their employer next round of bargaining, things are not as cut & dried as they seem. The stunning lack of clarity about what the party actually stands for and whose interests they actually represent, makes enough of the lefties and more moderate centre folks nervous to make their return to prominence a questionable thing.
Don’t forget, it’s not just the media that helped sink them (fast ferries, Glen Clark, Bingogate) it was also some of the more questionable policy and governance decisions they made that killed their credibility as social democrats. They cut welfare in the late 90’s, started contracting out and continue to support devolution of services from government even in the midst of the mayhem now occurring. For anyone wanting more on some of their history in government see Jim Herring’s 2003 pamphlet “Labour, the NDP and Our Communities” for a fascinating analysis of the NDP in action when in power (Clarion Publishing).
Party insiders tell us that there are also many NDP members (and former members) who are disillusioned and wondering what the hell has happened to “their” party? The primary supposition, which is arguably quite accurate, is that the NDP are actually much more neo-liberal/conservative than they are willing to admit and continue to pander and bandy about that they are democratic socialists, but their actions are anything but. You can fool some of the people… I think it is also the fact that like, the Liberals, the major players rose from the ranks, it's the Peter Principle all over again, only on a bigger scale with no-one to really stop them (except maybe voters).
As a citizen, it would be hard to vote for a party whose confusing response to the Liberals ill-advised and unpopular carbon tax is to “Axe the Tax,” but even though they think it should be axed, they too would tax us? And, since it is going through, why don’t we give the $$$ to the NDP party instead??? If they actually want to get elected, maybe the party leadership will start to get real and look at the chance they are quite likely blowing with confusion, half-assed (or none) ideas and hypocrisy. Right now, all they’re looking like to voters is a bunch of bumbling idiots, and a gentler, perhaps less evil version of the Liberals. And those who have gone up against the party brass can tell you (if they can be found in the bone yard) is they can be every bit as nasty as the Liberals in getting rid of the naysayers, realists and those who have a differing opinion.
September 12, 2007
Whips and chains
Public Eye Online.
November 27, 2005
For Fox sake!
January 16, 2008
New Labour?
Earlier, we reported Canadian Office and Professional Employees communications director Mike Bruce, British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union staff representative Vanessa Geary and BC FORUM organizer/executive assistant Monica Ghosh Malcolm would be running for Vision Vancouver's executive. All of them were elected. And, when you add Canadian Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada national representative Joie Warnock to that list, it means four of the civic party's nine new board members come from the labour movement. Asked about the matter, Vision Vancouver director Mike Magee said, "I'm very pleased with the executive because it not only has labour it has business, it has youth, it has Chinese, it has Indo-Canadian, it has representation from across the city. I think it's a really strong executive. So we welcome labour and we welcome busines. And they're both represented."
May 16, 2008
Share and share alike?
The Vision Vancouver mayoral nomination membership drive may be over. But it didn't come off without a hitch. On April 29, provincial New Democrat president Jeff Fox notified the civic association that many of his members were "concerned that BC NDP membership lists have either directly or indirectly found their way into the hands of the Vision campaign."
Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008
The NDP has a helpful suggestion on how to spend your $100 climate action cheque.
Give it to them.
In a "Dear Friend" e-mail to supporters, NDP environment critic Shane Simpson urges people to make their "gas tax rebate count" by funneling it to his party.
******
This just proves that the NDP are actually as frighteningly clued out as the Liberals. Who in their right mind okayed this grab of the Climate Change “dividend?” Whoever it is should be banished and muzzled. This whole thing begs the question, does the NDP actually want to be elected as the majority party in May 2009? This foolish stunt tells us no, in fact they don’t.
If the NDP brain trust couldn’t figure out this would be leaked and the optics of it when it was, then they are quite simply too stupid to be our next majority government. Because, like the Liberals, it’s these Backroom Silverbacks that are going to be the ones coming up with government policy and direction. If we were a conspiracy minded type, we might actually think the NDP actually wants the party to lose the next election. Although they have a nice leader(certainly a nicer one than the Liberals) Carole James is just not believable as a strong leader and the party continually present confusing, ill advised or half-baked platforms and ideas. Talk to anyone on the street (who isn’t an NDP insider) and they would not be able to say a thing about what the NDP actually stands for anymore, or what better solutions they have to offer. And that’s a PRETTY BIG problem considering they will be involved in an election in less than 18 months.
It’s this insular “inner circle” party thinking that helped kill Sam Sullivan’s career as mayor of Vancouver and that was a humiliating defeat. To recount, the sitting mayor lost the nomination for mayor in the next election of his own party. Talk about a non-confidence vote. He and his insiders on the executive did what they could to smear his opponent, yet, at the end of the day, he still lost. And he lost because he was out of touch with his party and his style of leadership was so exclusive, insular, insulting and full of dirty pool that he couldn’t even win the support of a majority of his membership. As on aside, I really hope the neophytes who were cheerleaders to him learned their lesson over this. Their open and public adoration and support for someone who shot himself and his whole party in the foot (with the public) sends a loud message about their insight and judgment. Be a little more diplomatic, rise above it all folks, or, get your head out of your @$$ if you want to play this game and not look like an idiot and have to do some major butt kissing to the new boss to stay in the game.
I think it’s time for the NDP to take a long, cold, brave look at themselves and where they are heading (into the rocks if they don’t smarten up). They fail to understand they do not own the hearts and minds of voters in BC, even on the left or in the labour movement. BTW, their shill (the BCGEU) has engendered a serious bunch of ill will in the labour community over their foolish actions over the last couple of years so that is something to strongly consider and the labour community as a whole is going to question what the NDP has done for them and since they could be their employer next round of bargaining, things are not as cut & dried as they seem. The stunning lack of clarity about what the party actually stands for and whose interests they actually represent, makes enough of the lefties and more moderate centre folks nervous to make their return to prominence a questionable thing.
Don’t forget, it’s not just the media that helped sink them (fast ferries, Glen Clark, Bingogate) it was also some of the more questionable policy and governance decisions they made that killed their credibility as social democrats. They cut welfare in the late 90’s, started contracting out and continue to support devolution of services from government even in the midst of the mayhem now occurring. For anyone wanting more on some of their history in government see Jim Herring’s 2003 pamphlet “Labour, the NDP and Our Communities” for a fascinating analysis of the NDP in action when in power (Clarion Publishing).
Party insiders tell us that there are also many NDP members (and former members) who are disillusioned and wondering what the hell has happened to “their” party? The primary supposition, which is arguably quite accurate, is that the NDP are actually much more neo-liberal/conservative than they are willing to admit and continue to pander and bandy about that they are democratic socialists, but their actions are anything but. You can fool some of the people… I think it is also the fact that like, the Liberals, the major players rose from the ranks, it's the Peter Principle all over again, only on a bigger scale with no-one to really stop them (except maybe voters).
As a citizen, it would be hard to vote for a party whose confusing response to the Liberals ill-advised and unpopular carbon tax is to “Axe the Tax,” but even though they think it should be axed, they too would tax us? And, since it is going through, why don’t we give the $$$ to the NDP party instead??? If they actually want to get elected, maybe the party leadership will start to get real and look at the chance they are quite likely blowing with confusion, half-assed (or none) ideas and hypocrisy. Right now, all they’re looking like to voters is a bunch of bumbling idiots, and a gentler, perhaps less evil version of the Liberals. And those who have gone up against the party brass can tell you (if they can be found in the bone yard) is they can be every bit as nasty as the Liberals in getting rid of the naysayers, realists and those who have a differing opinion.
September 12, 2007
Whips and chains
Public Eye Online.
November 27, 2005
For Fox sake!
January 16, 2008
New Labour?
Earlier, we reported Canadian Office and Professional Employees communications director Mike Bruce, British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union staff representative Vanessa Geary and BC FORUM organizer/executive assistant Monica Ghosh Malcolm would be running for Vision Vancouver's executive. All of them were elected. And, when you add Canadian Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada national representative Joie Warnock to that list, it means four of the civic party's nine new board members come from the labour movement. Asked about the matter, Vision Vancouver director Mike Magee said, "I'm very pleased with the executive because it not only has labour it has business, it has youth, it has Chinese, it has Indo-Canadian, it has representation from across the city. I think it's a really strong executive. So we welcome labour and we welcome busines. And they're both represented."
May 16, 2008
Share and share alike?
The Vision Vancouver mayoral nomination membership drive may be over. But it didn't come off without a hitch. On April 29, provincial New Democrat president Jeff Fox notified the civic association that many of his members were "concerned that BC NDP membership lists have either directly or indirectly found their way into the hands of the Vision campaign."
Monday, June 23, 2008
Bit & Bytes
You know, I got my “Climate Action Dividend” today, like a lot of BC citizens and I feel pretty crappy about it actually. I’m definitely into making changes in how I operate in terms of environmental issues (if I hear one more person say "carbon footprint" there will be blood)and the impact they have globally, but I feel like this is some lame attempt at buying me and perhaps my vote. See, we’re the good guys who hand out money and (pretend) are doing something about the environment...
The problem being, people with paid expenses for fuel, food etc. are totally disconnected and out of touch by how fast regular folks have been subjected to hefty rises in costs as a result. I think it is ridiculous that the BC Utilities Commission (handpicked Liberal cronies) have allowed Terasen Gas (more handpicked insiders) to raise the rate of gas 22% in the last year. Food costs have gone up, both because of increased fuel costs for transport, but also skyrocketing costs for basics, such as wheat and rice. The insane weather and tragedies around the globe isn't helping either. But, I'm quite sure the members of BCUC get expenses paid too. The whole lot of them get their gas paid for by us so they can afford to be magnamious. Unfortately, it's the rest of that pay and pay and pay. Critical mass folks, I think most of us feel taxed to death these days and we're not looking to our governments to add more. It's almost like Campbell and Dion are daring us to put them out of our misery. Okay, lets do it.
Carbon Tax Screws BC's North?
thetyee.ca
The closest thing we have, it seems, is figures from Terasen Gas, which show that the average natural gas customer in the Interior and the north actually ...-
A Province for Sale?
As B.C. assets shift into foreign hands, some see a big cost: Ability to chart our own economic future.
By Claudia Cornwall
Published: January 14, 2005
**
This was an outstanding of journalism by Chad Skelton in Saturdays Vancouver Sun. I hope the agencies and organizations checking up on their stats are ready to start answering questions.
Daycares lost track of children 230 times over five years
The second in the Sun's Care & Attention series
Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, June 20, 2008
This is the link for where citizens can look up daycares, group homes & facilities to see their risk ratings, what violations the place has been cited for and for critical incidents:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/care/index.html
You have to use the name of the program, or house, not the agency, or address.
***
A BIG shout out to George Carlin and family. He was a true genius and rabblerousers like him don’t come around very often. The Earth is a lesser place without him. Beware the filth:
Seven Words
Some people are stupid
Edgy comic George Carlin dies in L.A., aged 71
Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs, dirty words and the...
Vancouver Sun. June 23, 2008.
**
The May 2009 Liberal Dream Team
BC Liberals Suck.
The problem being, people with paid expenses for fuel, food etc. are totally disconnected and out of touch by how fast regular folks have been subjected to hefty rises in costs as a result. I think it is ridiculous that the BC Utilities Commission (handpicked Liberal cronies) have allowed Terasen Gas (more handpicked insiders) to raise the rate of gas 22% in the last year. Food costs have gone up, both because of increased fuel costs for transport, but also skyrocketing costs for basics, such as wheat and rice. The insane weather and tragedies around the globe isn't helping either. But, I'm quite sure the members of BCUC get expenses paid too. The whole lot of them get their gas paid for by us so they can afford to be magnamious. Unfortately, it's the rest of that pay and pay and pay. Critical mass folks, I think most of us feel taxed to death these days and we're not looking to our governments to add more. It's almost like Campbell and Dion are daring us to put them out of our misery. Okay, lets do it.
Carbon Tax Screws BC's North?
thetyee.ca
The closest thing we have, it seems, is figures from Terasen Gas, which show that the average natural gas customer in the Interior and the north actually ...-
A Province for Sale?
As B.C. assets shift into foreign hands, some see a big cost: Ability to chart our own economic future.
By Claudia Cornwall
Published: January 14, 2005
**
This was an outstanding of journalism by Chad Skelton in Saturdays Vancouver Sun. I hope the agencies and organizations checking up on their stats are ready to start answering questions.
Daycares lost track of children 230 times over five years
The second in the Sun's Care & Attention series
Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, June 20, 2008
This is the link for where citizens can look up daycares, group homes & facilities to see their risk ratings, what violations the place has been cited for and for critical incidents:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/care/index.html
You have to use the name of the program, or house, not the agency, or address.
***
A BIG shout out to George Carlin and family. He was a true genius and rabblerousers like him don’t come around very often. The Earth is a lesser place without him. Beware the filth:
Seven Words
Some people are stupid
Edgy comic George Carlin dies in L.A., aged 71
Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs, dirty words and the...
Vancouver Sun. June 23, 2008.
**
The May 2009 Liberal Dream Team
BC Liberals Suck.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Bet Their Family Get-togethers were something
Vancouver Island councillor and sons face new charges
CBC News. June 18, 2008
My comments:
I think it is quite likely the one brother has been plunged into the hell of instant detox and his hunger is quite likely for something other than food, but then that's just a guess. I take it none of the fine upstanding folks on here have ever been "dope sick" or known anyone who got "dope sick" but it is a pretty terrible thing. I don't know much about this case, but it seems fairly certain to me that drugs have torn this whole family apart and ruined the career and life of a man who was well thought of in his community. I've seen too much mayhem and pain from drugs, the drug trade and the impacts on families, good families and parents. I have compassion & understanding now. Most junkies I've known hate themselves and what they've done to their families and feel a kind of shame most of us will never know underneath it all.
There are glass houses people and every one of us reading this is one moment away from having a relative who is breaking into houses for crack money, or having her ass pimped out for dope. We all like to feel superior and smug as we pass judgment on the wreckage of other people's lives, but anyone on here who is a parent should kiss your kids and tell them that you love them and pray like hell everything will be okay and someone somewhere doesn't say to them someday, hey, it's just one line...just one hoot... Check out Everlast-Ends for a musical comment on it all.
And, I must agree, there is a wee thing called due process. If anyone of us fine folks was facing charges, or our loved ones, we'd probably want things like human and legal rights to be upheld and perhaps a fair trial, I'm just guessing. I'm sure this will play out the usual way, they'll plead to lesser offences, and take their lumps. The charges are already getting dumbed down.
**
Murder suspect allegedly assaulted man last year
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 4, 2008
CBC News. June 18, 2008
My comments:
I think it is quite likely the one brother has been plunged into the hell of instant detox and his hunger is quite likely for something other than food, but then that's just a guess. I take it none of the fine upstanding folks on here have ever been "dope sick" or known anyone who got "dope sick" but it is a pretty terrible thing. I don't know much about this case, but it seems fairly certain to me that drugs have torn this whole family apart and ruined the career and life of a man who was well thought of in his community. I've seen too much mayhem and pain from drugs, the drug trade and the impacts on families, good families and parents. I have compassion & understanding now. Most junkies I've known hate themselves and what they've done to their families and feel a kind of shame most of us will never know underneath it all.
There are glass houses people and every one of us reading this is one moment away from having a relative who is breaking into houses for crack money, or having her ass pimped out for dope. We all like to feel superior and smug as we pass judgment on the wreckage of other people's lives, but anyone on here who is a parent should kiss your kids and tell them that you love them and pray like hell everything will be okay and someone somewhere doesn't say to them someday, hey, it's just one line...just one hoot... Check out Everlast-Ends for a musical comment on it all.
And, I must agree, there is a wee thing called due process. If anyone of us fine folks was facing charges, or our loved ones, we'd probably want things like human and legal rights to be upheld and perhaps a fair trial, I'm just guessing. I'm sure this will play out the usual way, they'll plead to lesser offences, and take their lumps. The charges are already getting dumbed down.
**
Murder suspect allegedly assaulted man last year
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
How Bill C51 helps destroy Canada
Thought I should jump in here about that virulent piece of nastiness, Bill C51. It would appear our very rights as mere citizens of Canada are in jeopardy.
What do the Conservatives have against Omega 3’s, Echinacea or Spirulina, or Greens.
A friend of mine with rheumatoid arthritis recently bought as much tiger balm as she could from her local wholesaler from all of their stores around. It’s one of the few things that gives her a modicum of relief of pain and she can’t bear the thought of going without. We joked that she could turn herself into a regional supplier of the stuff. But, once you start reading Bill C51, would my friend be viewed as a criminal to her government if it is passed? As I often find myself reflecting these, what the hell is wrong with our government?
Heike Ferrie wrote an excellent piece called Prescription drugs are now the leading cause of death in the May 2008 issue of the Monitor, from the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Her article starts out with the following:
“Street drugs kill about 20,000 people a year in North America, but prescription drugs kill about 700,000 year, making legal drugs the leading cause of death. Drug side effects also cause 8.8 million hospitalizations annually or 28% of all hospital admissions.”
So, let’s get this straight. There is not one single known death attributed to natural health products in Canada, yet Stephen Harper and Tony Clement, his Minister of Health, want to strip the citizens of this country of our right to access a wide range of natural health products. If Bill C51 passes, and you buy/sell/share/collect/dry/eat/feed to your family any of the restricted items, your government will label you a criminal and you could be subject to fines 1000X bigger than those currently in effect.
As many are picking up, is this really about the health of Canadians? It’s really smoke & mirrors. Many are questioning the draconian measures being enshrined in this bill, right under our noses. Essentially, Bill C51 seems simply an additional link in the chain that is the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and North American Union (NAU), where the powers that be (whoever these shadowy folks are) create something to fear domestically as a shield to erode citizen rights to those little things like freedom and democracy. When a government criminalizes it’s citizens for providing and selling health products there is something so much more going on.
The Official Stop C51 Website
Bill C-51 Will:
Allow Government agents to:
-Enter private property without a warrant Section 23 (4)
-Confiscate your property at their discretion, at your cost Section 23.3 a
-Dispose of your property at their discretion, at your cost Section 23.3 c
-Seize your bank accounts without a warrant Section 23 (2) (d)
-Charge you for shipping and storage of your property Section 23.3a-b
-Store your property Indefinitely without paying you for damages Section 23 (2) (d)
-Levy fines of up to $5,000,000.00 / 2 years in jail per offence. Section 31.1
Introduce new legislation that will:
-Allow laws to be created in Canada, behind closed doors, with the assistance of foreign governments, industrial and trade organizations Section 30.7
-Allow "Crack house style" of enforcement on natural health providers Section 23.1
-Allow enforcement to be considered on more than 70% of Canadians who use NHP's Health Canada Reference
-Allow the minister, based on opinion, to shut down research without any scientific reason or evidence of risk or harm Section 18.5
-Allow the minister, based on opinion, to allow or disallow market authorizations for Natural Health Products Section 18.7 (1)
**
Stop C51 Petition: Don’t Let OUR government push this through.
Let your MP know that if they don’t fight Bill C51 and help prevent it from being passed that they will never sit in that big House again. This is worth bringing the Conservatives down over and the Opposition members need to know that. They have had many opportunities and I suggest the destruction of Canadian’s basic Charter Rights & Freedoms in this way is enough of a reason to tear this House apart.
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Webpage: http://canada.gc.ca/directories-repertoires/direct-eng.html#mp
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“Once upon a time there was a Canada”
Canada's C-51 Law To Outlaw 60% of Natural Health Products: Don't Let Big Pharma Do This To Canada
C-51 would even criminalize the simple drying of herbs in your kitchen to be used in an herbal product, by the way. That would now be categorized as a “controlled activity,” and anyone caught engaging in such “controlled activities” would be arrested, fined and potentially jailed. Other “controlled activities” include labeling bottles, harvesting plants on a farm, collecting herbs from your back yard, or even testing herbal products on yourself! (Yes, virtually every activity involving herbs or supplements would be criminalized...)
This last bit is interesting in the context of the Witch hunts of centuries past. Wise women (crones) were the established healers of the village and community and wouldn’t you know the criminalization and rounding up of these wise women led to the creation and rise of the medical and legal systems. I guess I better go throw that drying rosemary out, yikes, wouldn’t want the storm troopers descending to take me into custody, they’d have a field day with all the vitamins and natural health products I have in my home. I wonder what gulag they’ll build for all of these heartless criminals? Guatanamo is supposed to be emptying soon and I hear Haliburton is on a detention centre building boom in the US, so I guess we better stop giving vitamins to the kids too. A whole new boom time will happen for the child protection and legal system if parents are going to be criminalized for giving the kids natural health products. When is this madness going to stop?
What do the Conservatives have against Omega 3’s, Echinacea or Spirulina, or Greens.
A friend of mine with rheumatoid arthritis recently bought as much tiger balm as she could from her local wholesaler from all of their stores around. It’s one of the few things that gives her a modicum of relief of pain and she can’t bear the thought of going without. We joked that she could turn herself into a regional supplier of the stuff. But, once you start reading Bill C51, would my friend be viewed as a criminal to her government if it is passed? As I often find myself reflecting these, what the hell is wrong with our government?
Heike Ferrie wrote an excellent piece called Prescription drugs are now the leading cause of death in the May 2008 issue of the Monitor, from the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Her article starts out with the following:
“Street drugs kill about 20,000 people a year in North America, but prescription drugs kill about 700,000 year, making legal drugs the leading cause of death. Drug side effects also cause 8.8 million hospitalizations annually or 28% of all hospital admissions.”
So, let’s get this straight. There is not one single known death attributed to natural health products in Canada, yet Stephen Harper and Tony Clement, his Minister of Health, want to strip the citizens of this country of our right to access a wide range of natural health products. If Bill C51 passes, and you buy/sell/share/collect/dry/eat/feed to your family any of the restricted items, your government will label you a criminal and you could be subject to fines 1000X bigger than those currently in effect.
As many are picking up, is this really about the health of Canadians? It’s really smoke & mirrors. Many are questioning the draconian measures being enshrined in this bill, right under our noses. Essentially, Bill C51 seems simply an additional link in the chain that is the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and North American Union (NAU), where the powers that be (whoever these shadowy folks are) create something to fear domestically as a shield to erode citizen rights to those little things like freedom and democracy. When a government criminalizes it’s citizens for providing and selling health products there is something so much more going on.
The Official Stop C51 Website
Bill C-51 Will:
Allow Government agents to:
-Enter private property without a warrant Section 23 (4)
-Confiscate your property at their discretion, at your cost Section 23.3 a
-Dispose of your property at their discretion, at your cost Section 23.3 c
-Seize your bank accounts without a warrant Section 23 (2) (d)
-Charge you for shipping and storage of your property Section 23.3a-b
-Store your property Indefinitely without paying you for damages Section 23 (2) (d)
-Levy fines of up to $5,000,000.00 / 2 years in jail per offence. Section 31.1
Introduce new legislation that will:
-Allow laws to be created in Canada, behind closed doors, with the assistance of foreign governments, industrial and trade organizations Section 30.7
-Allow "Crack house style" of enforcement on natural health providers Section 23.1
-Allow enforcement to be considered on more than 70% of Canadians who use NHP's Health Canada Reference
-Allow the minister, based on opinion, to shut down research without any scientific reason or evidence of risk or harm Section 18.5
-Allow the minister, based on opinion, to allow or disallow market authorizations for Natural Health Products Section 18.7 (1)
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Stop C51 Petition: Don’t Let OUR government push this through.
Let your MP know that if they don’t fight Bill C51 and help prevent it from being passed that they will never sit in that big House again. This is worth bringing the Conservatives down over and the Opposition members need to know that. They have had many opportunities and I suggest the destruction of Canadian’s basic Charter Rights & Freedoms in this way is enough of a reason to tear this House apart.
Member of Parliament Lookup
Find out who your MP is to request their advocacy services on your behalf.
Webpage: http://canada.gc.ca/directories-repertoires/direct-eng.html#mp
**
“Once upon a time there was a Canada”
Canada's C-51 Law To Outlaw 60% of Natural Health Products: Don't Let Big Pharma Do This To Canada
C-51 would even criminalize the simple drying of herbs in your kitchen to be used in an herbal product, by the way. That would now be categorized as a “controlled activity,” and anyone caught engaging in such “controlled activities” would be arrested, fined and potentially jailed. Other “controlled activities” include labeling bottles, harvesting plants on a farm, collecting herbs from your back yard, or even testing herbal products on yourself! (Yes, virtually every activity involving herbs or supplements would be criminalized...)
This last bit is interesting in the context of the Witch hunts of centuries past. Wise women (crones) were the established healers of the village and community and wouldn’t you know the criminalization and rounding up of these wise women led to the creation and rise of the medical and legal systems. I guess I better go throw that drying rosemary out, yikes, wouldn’t want the storm troopers descending to take me into custody, they’d have a field day with all the vitamins and natural health products I have in my home. I wonder what gulag they’ll build for all of these heartless criminals? Guatanamo is supposed to be emptying soon and I hear Haliburton is on a detention centre building boom in the US, so I guess we better stop giving vitamins to the kids too. A whole new boom time will happen for the child protection and legal system if parents are going to be criminalized for giving the kids natural health products. When is this madness going to stop?
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