A revolutionary OLD concept: the CommonWealth

Here is a reasonable starting point for a discussion of the horrors inherent to unfettered privatization and corporate growth:

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/16329-our-common-wealth-the-hidden-economy-that-makes-everything-else-work

Many of the profits that currently accrue to corporations should actually be returned to the common wealth from which they were derived.  It is frightening that so few people feel that they have a common wealth to which they are entitled.

Is this a defining moment for our descent ...

.. into fascist totalitarianism?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/27/bradley-manning-sf-gay-pride

The rather extensive exploration by Glenn Greenwald (see link above) of what should be a minor event in life's little drama reveals the extent to which mindless obedience to authority has pervaded our culture.  I see a parallel to Jews turning in gypsies to the Nazi death squads during WWII quite clearly.

Governments should never be viewed with reverence, and certainly not with unquestioning obedience and acquiescence.  They are formed for the sole purpose of exercising the brute force that is sometimes necessary to allow a culture to defeat thugs, thieves and organized gangs of such people.  Constitutional and democratic governments try to limit the government's use of such power to those occasions for which violence is the last resort.

Dissent and discussion have been found necessary to the health of any truly free society, and nothing guarantees that freedom more than the ability and willingness to prosecute anyone, including and particularly government officials, who violate the laws designed to protect everyone's right to live in freedom and peace.

The little saga of the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade's Grand Marshall detailed above shows haw low our culture has fallen in dealing fairly and courageously with those who would attempt to shine some light on the sins of those in positions of authority.

We are all in danger because of this willfully blind mindset.

Guns don't kill people, bullets do ...

... so who do you think is buying a really monstrous number of bullets? ... ... ...

... why it's ... ...

The Department of Homeland Security!!!

http://news.antiwar.com/2013/04/26/enormous-dhs-bullet-usage-defies-common-sense/

I don't make this stuff up!

I suppose that Canada's Vic Toews (The Minister of Public Safety) will be signing off of the bullet requisitions any day now.  It only makes sense! (in a post 9/11ish, cowardly, bullying, ignorant, lapdogish, wanna-be-tough-looking sort of way).

A necessary study

The recent report from the Constitution Project in the US confirms in great detail that the US government, from its top officials on downward through the ranks, has committed war crimes with its handling of prisoners.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/a-necessary-reckoning-with-torture/

It seems that only by prosecuting those responsible will our society regain its moral compass.  Canada's governments have been compliant in this evil process as well, and there are no shortages of people in need of prosecution up here.

We have to enforce our laws and Treaties uniformly with respect to all classes of society.  The past decades have shown that the bad guys are often those in high office or with great wealth.

Time to restore the equilibrium in our little experiment in democracy.

Time to look into the mirror ...

 ... to see who the real bad guys are.  This article pretty well nails it:

http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-criminal-iraq-war/

So, if we wish to live under the rule of law, there seems to be a lot of prosecuting to do, particularly amongst the ruling classes.

However, as most people don't seem to care about these niceties, due to the the true nature of our world it would be wise to hook up with a strong gang of thugs to ensure your security.  Don't trust the gummint, those guys are taking care of themselves first!

The Gulf Oil Spill might have been prevented ...

if only people had listened to Bradley Manning!

Here's a remarkable story about the sort of information that was leaked from US State Department files by Manning and which should have been acted upon by the 'authorities':

http://www.gregpalast.com/bradley-manning-the-deepwater-horizon/

BP and the US gov't concealed information that proved that the reason for the blowout at the drilling rig was fully explainable and happened simply because BP was too cheap to do the job right.

Another example of the rich corporations being above the law, with the full complicity of those who should be enforcing the laws.

More thoughts on priorities

Here's a paragraph from a discussion by Spencer Ackerman (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/03/trillion-dollar-wars/) that is worth serious thought:

"Money, ultimately, is power. In context, it would take a nuclear strike on the United States to inflict the kind of economic damage that the wars have reaped. The only nations capable of inflicting such damage are disinclined toward doing so; and no non-state actor will plausibly obtain the capability to match such a threat. All of that damage is the result not of what bin Laden or Saddam Hussein or the insurgencies that began in their wake did to America, but because of how American strategiests chose to respond. As Radiohead once sang, you do it to yourself, and that’s why it really hurts."

The people running the US and its allies in the WOT can only be considered as suicidal morons to have done so much damage to their own countries.  Imagine what could have been accomplished if the resources wasted on these wars had been instead spent on education, medical research, medical care, infrastructure repairs and improvements, poverty reduction, etc., etc.

Consider also that the freedoms guaranteed in the American Constitution are now all history, and that, therefore, Osama bin Laden has achieved his stated goal - he has destroyed the American Republic and effectively created a presidential dictatorship enforced by the military.  Wow, that's efficacy for you!

Priorities

If these statistics are true, 9/11 is just a dust spec in the haystack of US mayhem.  However, it has resulted in their government destroying other countries, killing thousands, wasting trillions of $$$ and shredding their own constitution.  Wow!

Canada officially becomes an international pirate

Here's an article form the Montreal Gazette explaining that Canada jumped into Libya's civil war so that Canadian businesses could get control of Libyan valuables.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Government+plan+ensure+commercial+return+military+investment+Libya/8116497/story.html

I guess Canada is trying to join up with the big boys now.  Forget all that helping the downtrodden stuff, there's resources to be plundered!

The Golden Rule - Redux ...

Here's how the US government wants the world to view drone attacks:

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14899-what-if-a-drone-attacked-in-the-us

Somehow, I don't think they would agree with the legality of the scenario described in this article.  I mean, really, who would allow that others can do unto you as you do unto them?  That thinking is do pre-9/11, so childishly christian.  Why would anyone expect the rule of law to apply to those who spout the law?

The Way We Were ...

Here's a really good description of the way things used to be in the western world before torture, rendition, and governmental murder became the 'in' thing.

http://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2013/02/13/obamas-secret-court-for-killing/

How quaint to think that most of us used to support the former rule of law as described in the Judge's article.

Welcome to the new Age of Tribalism

Glenn Greenwald discusses the phenomenon of 'us' versus 'them' that is behind the shabby state of politics and human rights discussions in the modern era:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/11/progressives-defend-obama-kill-list

This willful blindness to the murderous consequences of faithfully supporting your 'party' when it is the governing power applies as much to Canada as the US.

Welcome to the steep descent into the next age of tribalist thuggism.  Fear has triumphed over reason.  Things are likely to get very messy, soon.

A depressing summary of things ...

This is self-explanatory:

http://www.thenation.com/article/172380/government-persecution-aaron-swartz-bradley-manning#

Thought control is the real prize.

Another thought on the Swartz persecution:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/20/aaron-swartz-cannon-fodder-internet-freedom

The law as a murder weapon

The recent suicides of two hackers reveal how the government now deals with its detractors - it haggles them to death with the law:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/16/ortiz-heymann-swartz-accountability-abuse

If the power exists someone will abuse it.

The other point that isn't getting enough attention is the comparative effort the DOJ devotes to these hacking crimes versus that given to actual physical murders (drone assassinations) and trillion dollar thefts by Wall Street bankers.

Our current economic system

Just in case you were wondering why nobody has any money or pensions anymore, read this:

http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/17745-the-five-step-process-to-cheat-the-middle-class-worker

If you think this system is just peachy-keen, read it again, then ask yourself why you continue working for someone else's profit (taxed at a lower rate than your meager wages) while the government continues to give the country's natural resource wealth, sans frais, to corporations who don't ever clean up their own detritus, and use bankruptcy laws as a means of evading pension and contract responsibilities.

Servitude! - the modern way of life!

And if  you've read this far, here's another illuminating article about our loss of control over the business beast:

http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/what-watchdog-how-financial-press-has-failed-american-public?akid=9920.1084699.8spl8b&rd=1&src=newsletter775831&t=5&paging=off

Intimidation, and its aftermath

This story illustrates the obscene nature of a government that encourages torture and child murder (collateral damage), and yet throws the full power of the law against those who disagree with the corporatist desire to commercialize every aspect of human life.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/12/aaron-swartz-heroism-suicide1

How depressing.

It Is Happening Here

Your assignment today is to read this article and contrast the activities described therein with the events in Germany during the 1930s:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy

Then write a short article listing the freedoms for which the western world is hated.  Discuss why it is now so hard to write a long list of these freedoms

Have a great New Year!

Here's what has been trampled by our fear-inducing governments,

An excellent summary of the retrogression of western freedoms:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/scandal-alert-congress-is-quietly-abandoning-the-5th-amendment/266498/

This just proves that bin Laden won.  He has destroyed the freedoms that we used to enjoy, by causing our own governments to overturn them and to destroy the rule of law in our society.  Now that's the definition of a successful attack!

Whose dead children are important?

A good article to consider during this time of Newtown overexposure:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/us-killings-tragedies-pakistan-bug-splats

A Good Move To Counter Propaganda

Glenn Greenwald describes the formation of a new organization aimed at supporting real journalism and countering government efforts to hide its crimes:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/wikileaks-new-press-freedom-group

It cannot happen soon enough!

What we have lost

Here's is an excellent article that outlines what we have lost in the recent panic about terrorism:

http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/105/why-we-torture.html

We no longer can pretend to live in a free country, where rule of law is paramount.

Merry Christmas!

A worthwhile read

Andy Worthington reminds us of some transgressions that seem to have been ignored:


http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-long-pursuit-of-accountability-for-the-bush-administrations-torture-program/

"Freedom", as practiced in the USofA

Here's a good summary of how the freedom thingy is being practiced in the US these days:

http://original.antiwar.com/jwhitehead/2012/11/12/obamas-first-term-track-record-on-civil-liberties/

You can bet that Canada's government wants exactly the same sort of powers, and will probably sneak them into one of Harper's ever-so-popular omnibus bills in the near future.

How the world works

Here's a couple of basic lessons in economics that explain why things never seem to get better in our modern world:

http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2012-11-07.asp

Inflation is not inevitable, but it sure passes the debts along to future generations, thus keeping taxes low because the government does not want the current electorate to actually pay for current spending.

Obama , the good guy (?)

Here's what has happened to the US this century.  Things have changed down there in a very big way, and most people seem to think these changes are just fabulous:

http://blog.independent.org/2012/10/30/obama-and-civil-liberties-the-prospect-of-four-more-years/

I believe these changes will result in the destruction of our culture, but, what the hey, who cares?

Ahh ... our British heritage ...

Something to consider when you brag about our ancestors:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9653497/British-have-invaded-nine-out-of-ten-countries-so-look-out-Luxembourg.html

I'll bet the politicians said they were bringing good things to the invaded areas every time.

A new type of fealty ...

for those with liberal tendencies.

http://warisacrime.org/content/indefinite-detention-progressive-voter

This is an interesting slant on how politicians have co-opted the wishes of various 'groups' in order to retain their support.

The fruits of violence

Here's what NATO has accomplished in Afghanistan - It's created a nation of permanently dependent spoiled thugs:

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/11/01/report-afghan-cant-maintain-us-built-facilities-after-pullout/

Again, we need to ask whether it might have been better to have spend all that money inside our own borders as opposed to throwing it all away in the sand (and to continue doing so for the next 10+ years).

Stalin was right

Stalin said that the person who counted the votes determines the winner.  He was right;

http://www.ukprogressive.co.uk/breaking-retired-nsa-analyst-proves-gop-is-stealing-elections/article20598.html

This is very troubling.

Kill lists now official US policy

There is no longer any doubt that the US President is acting as if he has the right to order the murder of anyone in the world without any public notice, presentation of evidence, or opportunity to appeal these death orders.  Read Glenn Greenwald's article about this obscene practice:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/24/obama-terrorism-kill-list

'They hate us for our freedoms' ...

Here's an example of how the brave security boys in Afghanistan are representing the west:

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/10/17/video-shows-drunk-stoned-us-security-contractors-while-on-duty/

I'm so glad Canada was part of this process!  (Hint: ... irony ....).

"Debate" among those with lots to hide

Just in case you were left with a feeling of unease regarding the 'spontaneity' of the US Presidential debates, here is the reason things seem so stilted and phony:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/16/presidential-debate-issues

Nobody is allowed to ask the right questions, nor refute BS in real time.  It's all a pleasant show for the kids (the great ignorant mass of the citizenry), like the way fighting relatives behave when meeting up at grandpa's funeral.

Opportunity knocked flat by 'defence'

Here's an good explanation of why defence spending is so obscene:

http://warisacrime.org/content/all-war-local

The concept is that of opportunity costs.  Money is finite (there ain't no golden goose) and if you choose to spend money on stuff that is only useful to destroy things, then you do not have that money available to spend on something useful, like schools, hospitals, roads, infrastructure, etc., etc.

Glenn Greenwald and questions of bias:

Glenn analyzes the debate show last night to expose the important bias inherent in the actual questions that were asked.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/12/raddatz-debate-objectivity

It's the old "When did you stop beating your wife?" problem.  The questions assume as fact things which are usually blatantly wrong, and ask for responses to the question which do not deal with the actual problem.

Questions for the Presidential candidates

Here's some things that will not be asked of either Romney or Obama, for reasons which are not obvious to most North Americans who do not understand where the true power lies in our societies:

http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2012/10/11/dont-ask-and-dont-tell/

Maybe you should ask these questions of yourselves to try and understand what it is that you cheer about as you 'support the troops'

Time for some introversion ...

Some astute thoughts about the contradictions that are accepted by most western people in order to justify the horrific acts committed by our governments:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/10/11

Is the them vs us paradigm so ingrained as to force our brains to accept winning by murder as the only solution to competitions at the international level?

Omar Khadr, some thoughts

Maher Arar puts forward some ideas about Omar Khadr's return to Canada after his sojourn with the US military:

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1266158---i-miss-being-trusted

If you have forgotten, Mr. Arar was also a guest of the Canadian-government-supported US system for a while.

Some things just need saying ...

... and Phil Giraldi says it very clearly:


http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/10/03/why-i-dislike-israel/

You certainly don't hear very many express these concepts.  Stuff to think about and rebut, perhaps?