Mother of 6 Year Old Arson Trying Her Best.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/05/09/boy-fire.html

Regardless of the fact that it was not good enough to prevent her 6 year old from burning down a house, it is comforting to know that ”Patricia”, a single mother of 4 children is trying her best.

Unfotunately, people place unreasonable expectations on Patricia. She handles it with grace and dignity. “I’ve run into a few people and they say, ‘Don’t you think you should be charged for your kid’s actions?’ And I says, well, I’m at home with my twins right now. I’m a single parent of four children. I can’t be with them 24/7.”

This world would be a much better place if everyone pumped out 4 kids and walked a mile in Patricia’s shoes. Maybe then people would understand that society shouldn’t expect so much of mothers. Perhaps if people understood how hard it is to look after 4 kids, they wouldn’t be so quick to complain about burning houses.  

I for one, think that society owes Patricia a debt of gratitude. I think that the Mayor of Winnipeg should present Patricia with the keys to the city, and hire her a nanny, so maybe she could schedule some free time to start working on upstanding member of society number 5. 

 

Biofuels, fueling SUVs and Hunger.

The amount of food it takes to produce enough ethanol to fill the tank of an SUV once, is coincidentally, the same amount of food it takes to keep a man alive for one year. I don’t mention this fact in the hope of guilting even one person out of driving a gas guzzler, as such people left their social conscience at the dealership.

This fact is important because the world needs to quickly wrap its collective mind around the “Global Food Shortage” and its attendant “Food Riots”. Skyrocketing food prices threaten to break the backs of relief agencies that are the only standing between millions of poverty stricken people, and death by starvation. But that is not why the Oil President wants America to, literally, drive food prices to sudden and unforeseen heights.

America is technically bankrupt and is stuck in an unwinnable war over a resource they can’t operate without exerting control over. The American dollar is tanking on world markets and because it is primarily traded in greenbacks, the price of oil is rising uncontrollably. Without continued lending from rival China, America will be instantly bankrupt. The exploding Indian and Chinese economies threatens American hegemony.

America is in the unenviable position of having its benefactors as rivals.

China and India have two primary vulnerabilities. They are hungry for food, and thirsty for oil. America is in the middle east in an attempt control the world’s energy supply, and they are gassing up on corn in an attempt to set up a mechanism of control over the world’s food prices.

China and India both have a booming economy that is fuelled by an ever-increasing demand for food and oil. America holds the keys to both. America needs to borrow over a billion dollars per day. China and India had better keep lending it.

It is the miracle of biofuel.

Native Reserves turn their backs too.

RE: “North Bay turns it back on people in need.” Nugget (April 30, 2008)

 

The people of Kashechewan have been evacuated due to flooding again.

 

Maurice Switzer has accused North Bay of turning its back on those people in need. By implication, he is saying that our city does not have a compassionate or generous spirit.

 

If North Bay lacks neighborly compassion due to the fact that we have not accepted any evacuees, by extension, every community that has not taken in evacuees is also lacking in compassion.

 

According to Switzer, the following communities have taken in evacuees:  Timmins, Sudbury, Cochrane, Stratford, Perth and St. Mary’s.

 

That list is interesting for the total lack of native communities on it.

 

I am shocked and appalled that not one native reserve in Ontario could find it in their hearts to take in one of the 1800 Kashechewan evacuees.

 

Maurice Switzer is the Director of Communications for the Union of Ontario Indians. He is also a hypocrite who owes North Bay an apology.

 

 

It Hurts to Think …

“Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for an hour to deliver a message about the need for a concerted action against global warming.” – earthhourus.org 

I can see certain advantages of choosing such a frivolous method to “take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced”.  You’ll notice that the kindly folks at the World Wildlife Fund said nothing about turning off the TV. This event needs media, and the media doesn’t like to lose advertising revenue. Due to the fact that the elements in society that profit from conditions that lead to global warming (oil companies) won’t feel threatened by this, the corporate media that is controlled by them, will give this event attention. The attention will benefit the event regardless of whether the event benefits the cause. Hence, there is an advantage to the event.  

Earth Hour will have a lot of accidental participants as it will happen at a time during which a lot of couch potatoes haven’t even got off their couch to turn on their lights anyway. Therefore people can literally do their part by choosing to do nothing. The event gets another advantage because it can claim many more participants.

Everyone already knows about this problem, so this event will have almost no value in terms of raising awareness. We are reminded of climate change constantly, for example, when earlier this week a chunk of ice bigger than Montreal broke off the Antarctic ice shelf, and images of the collapse were captured by a satellite – a grim reminder indeed. It seems like every day new studies are released that provide new dire predictions concerning the impact of climate change.

We know already.

Everyone with a pulse has thought about it. Most decided that they can’t do anything about it, and apathetically go on about their lives. But then, Earth Hour comes along to save them from the guilt of doing nothing. Now they can “take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced” and still do nothing!  

Advantage: apathetic lazy people who will derive benefit from a little band aid applied to their guilty consciences. A little band aid with perhaps a cute little panda bear on it.

I’m going to leave the lights on, and turn my brain off. It needs to cool down just like the planet.

Three Cheers for China (Pretend Ones)

Boycotting the Olympics is always a good idea as far as I’m concerned. Boycotting the Olympics in order to embarrass China is a really bad idea.

Some people think that a religious dictatorship is preferable to a state-capitalist dictatorship, and those people tend to think that China should grant independence to Tibet and re-install the Dalai Lama. Provided they have done at least a little thinking on the issue, and have not formulated their viewpoint in knee-jerk response to the enormous anti-China propaganda that saturates our media, then I have little to criticize them for.

However, if fans of the Dalai Lama believe that boycotting the Olympics will change anything for Tibet, then I suggest they put on their thinking caps.

Tibetan activists will certainly be punished for trying to politically capitalize on the upcoming Olympics. That is fully guaranteed. The degree to which they will be punished will directly correlate with the degree to which China feels embarrassed, and will be administered mostly after the eyes of the world are no longer on China.

After hammering Tibet with an iron fist, China’s next response to political pressure and threats to boycott the olympics will be to quietly remind world leaders that they hold well over a trillion dollars in American currency and debt. Dumping this currency and debt on the market is what China refers to as the “Nuclear Option”.

If and when China decides to go nuclear in an economic sense, the world economy will be instantly crippled by a worthless American dollar.

Wouldn’t it be a shame if sympathy for a monkey in a purple robe, who preaches peace while on the CIA payroll, and talks about humility while he stays in 5 star hotels, causes China to do something crazy out of sheer frustration?

China wants to be seen as an upstanding member of the world community. For the sake of the way of life we hold dear, I hope that the world gives China its moment of glory, and embraces that country whole-heartedly for two whole weeks.

I don’t care about a sporting ritual during which the world comes together to figure out who the fastest runner is, or what country can drop the best water polo team into the pool. I certainly don’t care about whether or not a religious dictator gets what he wants. I don’t care if the shelves of Walmart are suddenly empty due to a full melt down of the international currency market, thereby rendering blithering yuppie wannabes unable to purchase Chinese made junk.

I just hope that world leaders have an effective emergency plan in place before China throws a tantrum.

I’m not defending China in any way. The fact that the Bush administration with its foolhardy tax cuts for the rich and drunken war spending has placed the world at China’s mercy is deeply regrettable.

The right move would be to slowly and carefully sneak the bullets out of the gun that China has pointed at the world’s head. The wrong move would be to dare China to fire it over something ridiculously unimportant.

More Justice for Brenda Martin

I write this as someone who has every intention of voting Liberal in the next election, but every time Stephane Dion politically positions himself on an issue, or opens his mouth at all, I cringe, and wonder if I’ll be able to go through with it.

With regard to the Brenda Martin situation, Stephane Dion has put his head metaphorically up his keester just in time for Easter. Shockingly, he has equated the brand of justice that Brenda Martin faces in Mexico with that which Mohamed Kohail faces in Saudi Arabia. In the absence of a demand from Stephen Harper to release Brenda Martin, Dion has declared hypocritical our governments advocacy on behalf of Kohail, who faces execution by having his head cut off with a sword. Therefore, in Stephane Dion’s mind, executing a Canadian citizen using distinctly medieval means is no different than detaining a Canadian citizen for two years while she changes legal teams repeatedly and uses procedural technicalities and constitutional challenges which have the effect of delaying her own trial.

Canada has to recognize the integrity of an independent judiciary, which Mexico has. So when Mr. Dion says: “How, then, can he say that Canada will intervene with Saudi Arabia to spare the life of Mr. Kohail?” In saying something so irresponsible as this, he may score some political points amongst people whose sympathy exceeds their ability to think clearly, but he is ruining his credibility amongst the others. Keep in mind, that Canada asked for clemency for a man sentenced to death in Texas even though he freely admitted his guilt. The issue is the death penalty. We don’t recognize the right of any country to put a citizen of ours to death – guilty or not. We do however recognize the integrity of other countries’ legal systems insofar as they have integrity, and we also recognize that our citizens have to obey the laws of the countries that they visit.

No Brenda Martin supporter is calling for a speedy and fair trial. They are demanding immediate release citing an affidavit signed by a con artist saying that Brenda Martin was unaware of the activities of the company that she worked for – and invested in.

That affidavit seems to carry a lot of weight in the media, but in a trial, according the Mexican authorities, it will be placed beside a written confession signed by Brenda Martin. Who knows if that confession was made under some form of duress? That is something that would come to light in a fair trial. The other evidence in the case will also be presented. If she were to receive a speedy and fair trial, could any one in Canada complain about that? I mean, if she is guilty, she should be subjected to punishment under Mexican law right? Of course, that is only provided that the punishment fits the crime, and is not seen to be cruel and unusual as is the case with the imminent beheading of another Canadian, who, in the face of Dion’s superior political logic, I will admit is not white.

If Brenda Martin will advise her lawyers to abandon the procedural delay tactics and constitutional challenges and move to trial, we, as Canadians, after having heard the evidence against her, may owe Mexico an apology for the outrage and disrepect we have shown.

The role our government can play in this situation is to help ensure the trial is fair. If it is not, Mexico should be subject to sanctions. At such a time as Brenda Martin has been convicted without a fair trial, then the Canadian government should demand her immediate return.

Justice for Brenda Martin

My sympathy goes out to the people who count Brenda Martin as a loved one, and much respect to them for the efforts they have made to secure her freedom.

However, rather than just hope for her to be set free, instead, I hope for justice to be done. The Prime Minister is in the unenviable position of having to appear as though he is protecting one of our citizens, while at the same time, he needs to respect the sovereignty of Mexico, and the integrity of its court system.

Rather than lobby Calderone to set Brenda Martin free, he should ask for a fair trial to be conducted in a tmely manner. If the Mexican government does not have enough evidence to secure a conviction in a fair trial, then they should immediately release her. If there is evidence, then the sooner it is presented the better, preferably before there is a diplomatic incident.

Brenda Martin claims to be nothing more than the cook for the biggest internet scam in history -  a cook who also invested in the company.  The Mexican authorities disagree with her claim that she didn’t have a part in the fraudulent activity, and point out the trial could have been conducted sooner, had Brenda Martin’s lawyer chosen to go to trial.

Both sides should agree to go to trial, and the Canadian government should issue a stern warning that if it is not a fair trial, they will expect Brenda Martin to be returned to Canadian soil immediately. 

Justice should be done, and I for one, would be interested to know if Brenda Martin really invested in and worked for a ”company” without knowing anything about the nature of the business it conducted. 

In Defense of Geraldine Ferraro

No other demographic group is breaking as strongly as African Americans are breaking for Obama. They almost unanimously support him.

In exit polls, many African American Obama supporters claim that race is a major factor in their decision of who to vote for. That is racism, pure and simple.

If a white person voted for Hillary because she is white, it would be racism. So, why can’t a racially motivated supporter of Obama be referred to as racist?

If, over 90% of African Americans are voting for Obama based largely on race, and there is no other appreciable racial motivation among Democratic voters, can Obama not be seen to have derived benefit from his skin colour?

Just because a fact offends the fragile politically correct sensibilities of some people, does not mean it is not a fact.

Obama’s skin colour is an asset in the Democratic primaries. Period. Geraldine Ferraro put her neck in a noose because SOMEONE just had to say it. This campaign cannot run its course without this fact being injected into the public discourse.

Racism will gain Barack Obama the Democratic nomination.

Obama is carrying states like South Carolina and Alabama because a majority of Democratic voters in those states are black. This is a fact.

Unfortunately for Democrats who have been deluded by a media that seems to be enthralled with Obama, skin colour which can be an asset when voting is restricted to Democrats, is not an asset when you have to swing a few fence riding Republicans your way in order to elect a President.

When Republicans vote, you can bet skin colour will be an issue, just not in the way it is when black Democrats vote.

Correct me if I am wrong.

What Is Wrong With Our Culture?

Look at Grandad Represent his Deluded Generation

Some cultures venerate their elderly, and those elderly folks pass on useful knowledge and perhaps some wisdom for the benefit of generations to follow.

Some cultures, because illusion is the glue that holds up the house of cards, are terrified of old people that have something to say. Those cultures make a mockery of elderly people, and train them to spend their golden years in assanine frivolity as though that is some kind of reward for a life well spent.

Keep the children in front of video games. Keep the adults working to pay off the debts they acquired in exchange for shit they don’t need. And most importantly, keep the geriatrics on Harleys pretending they are bad-ass freedom lovers, when they are in fact, helpless slaves with scrambled eggs in their heads.

The Real Issue in Caledonia

It seems obvious to me that without solving the issue of off-reserve tobacco sales, there will be no solution to the stand off in Caledonia.

I started thinking this when Shawn Brant and a small group of followers blocked off an extremely busy rail corridor in Southern Ontario and did millions of dollars of damage to the economy. I was curious as to why this blocakde could not be cleared immediately, as it seemed as though the situation was handled with an even softer pair of kid gloves than is usual under such circumstances.

My curiousity led me to google his name, and results involving his connection with Tyendinaga Mohawk Tobacco Products appeared. Some references to the Caledonia situation were also returned by the search.

When you start sifting through all the connections between the stand off in Caledonia, the main players in it, and the native tobacco industry, you might reasonably conclude that a few people are in a position to make a lot of money from this situation, and the land claim conflict is in some ways useful to their cause.

Now that the OPP is absolutely unwilling to enforce the law in Caledonia for fear of escalating the land claim tensions, we see illegal smoke shops popping up off reserve.

Perhaps the real native agenda, or at least a big part of it, is to win the right to sell tax free smokes off reserve. Perhaps that is why the offer of $125 million from the federal government to settle the land claim, which has previously been shown to be without merit, was rejected. The only way that the events in Caledonia make any sense to me is if both of these assertions are in fact, true. There is no way of knowing anything for sure unless one is capable of reading minds, but common sense can be illuminating under these circumstances.

It seems to me that the police are demonizing Caledonian activists. It also seems like the media is ignoring this situation out of a very understandable fear of politically correct backlash. It is difficult to be critical of anything that First Nations people do without opening yourself up to an accusation of racism. We have 4 more years of Dalton McGuinty as premier who has been proven to be very shy about conjuring up the ghosts of Ipperwash. Therefore, for all of these reasons, it looks like help is not on the way for Caledonia.

If off reserve tobacco sales is the real issue, then the government needs to confront it head on so there will be no motive for Six Nations business leaders to prevent the land claim from being settled. Eventually, if my guess is right, the government will act because it loses tax money every time a contraband cigarette is sold, so the financial motivation will increase over time.

Fortunately, the government can confront this issue without confronting the native community, and this isn’t even the first time this has needed to be done.

Back in the early days of the Harris government, cigarette smuggling was becoming a major issue. The government was losing a lot of tax money because of it. The Conservatives dropped cigarette taxes to make legal cigarettes more competitive with illegal ones.

Provided they were undertaken before Ontario tobacco farmers go completely out of business, similar measures would diminish the native’s trade in contraband tobacco. However, eliminating cigarette taxes would not improve the McGuinty government’s fiscal position, so I wouldn’t even recommend doing it. There are other measures that would accomplish the same thing, without the short term financial sacrifice.

Before I go on, I should point out that I am not advocating actions against legitimate First Nations interests, however, tobacco should be regulated and taxed, off-reserve at least. Illegal tobacco, like all contraband, can finance organized crime, and creates health problems without providing the financial means to deal with those health problems.

If the Ontario government eliminates the tax on cigarettes, it could recoup those dollars elsewhere with a different tax. I suggest that the Ontario Health Premium should be adjusted for this purpose.

By calculating the amount that a heavy smoker currently pays per year in cigarette taxes, and then add that to the amount that every person in the province pays for the Ontario Health Premium.

Of course, not every person should be required to pay this additonal amount, so by attaching a doctor’s written exemption to the person’s tax return, that person should be refunded the tobacco part of the premium.

This would be an extra hassle for doctors and their patients and a general burden on the health care system. However, I specifically suggested that the premium be increased by the amount that a heavy smoker would pay in cigarette taxes. All of this hassle would be worth it in order to convince the half-pack-a-day smoker that smoking isn’t worth it. The dedicated smokers wouldn’t be paying any more than before anyway. Such a smoker may not notice a couple of bucks a day, but they may notice their non-smoking friends cashing their thousand dollar refund cheques at the end of the year. Occasional and light smokers would quit in droves.

There are other benefits of embracing this plan of using the Ontario Health Premium to provide people with incentives to the right thing about their health. For example, in the future, there could be a similar levy/rebate system in place which is based on whether a person keeps his or her body weight within a healthy range. Of course, this would have to be phased in over time, because the difference between obesity and smoking is that a pack a day smoker can wake up tomorrow morning, and stop smoking, thereby becoming a non-smoker. It takes much longer than that to bring body weight into the ideal range.

Another benefit to such a plan would to shift the focus of our health care system to prevention. Taxes would be piled on to those who are a liability to the system, to motivate them to take care of their health. This is why our vices are taxed, I am merely proposing to bring this taxation into the health care system instead of doing it in stores. The government could provide incentives to doctors based on how many patients quit smoking and how many tackle their weight problems.

Taxing cigarettes within the health care system, instead of in stores, will also result in making legal cigarettes competitive with contraband cigarettes. Everyone that grows tobacco and sells cigarettes should have an equal opportunity to do so, except for on reserves where the natives should be able to have a monopoly. However, off-reserve, there should be equality.

If the billions and billions of dollars that stand to be gained if natives can somehow win the right to sell tax free cigarettes off reserve, or at least do so without existing laws being enforced, as is currently the situation in Caledonia, then perhaps other issues will be easier to resolve.

The situation is terrible in Caledonia, and it seems that the only winners so far are those who are making money off smokes. Something is going to change in the future, it is just a matter of whether the change will be graceful and born out of creative thinking, or it the change will come in the form of escalated tension and more suffering on the part of the people of Caledonia.