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.