Reality Check

Conservative Majority in Canada Will Demonize Marijuana in New Crime Bill

There’s an old adage in life that “you get what you deserve.” With a Conservative majority government we are seeing that statement unfold in the House of Commons.

 Despite the outcry from people (many non-voters) and the media, the Conservatives are ploughing ahead with a draconian crime bill, which will set this country back 35 years. That’s about the time that Richard Nixon announced a ‘war on drugs’ in the United States, which would go on to cost that country mega billions of dollars and whose prison population became 7 times greater per capita than Canada.

 Fortunately, the United States has come to its senses and has admitted that the ‘war on drugs’ has been a complete and utter failure, has not reduced crime, and is now releasing many inmates of non-violent crimes. States like Texas are appealing to Canada not to fall in to the same trap of ‘getting tough on crime’, especially when our crime rate is already low!

Tribute to Jack Layton

Every once and a while our lives are enriched by a leader who is willing to dedicate his life to a cause. A leader who will stop at nothing to make the world a better place.

 Jack Layton was such a leader. Shock waves ricocheted across the country at the news of his recent passing. Many tears are being shed for this great humanist and his compassionate soul.

 Jack Layton inspired me when I heard him speak in Cornwall several years ago. This man of peace captured the attention of every person in the room. The things he spoke about resonated with the audience, and there seemed to be an unspoken truth that he really wanted to improve the quality of life for the masses.

 The letter that Jack Layton wrote just prior to his death confirms his dedication and belief in the people he served. The letter also serves as a public record of his belief system, which include words like ‘love’ and ‘trust.’ What I find remarkable is the fact that he continued to care so deeply about others as he was at death’s door. Never before have I seen such devotion to people expressed in this way.

 Some people may argue that he made the ultimate sacrifice. He worked tirelessly as a politician to improve the lives of others while his own life was in peril. To the end he put the interests of other people first.

 Thank you, Jack for all of your contributions. Your memory will live on.

     

Harper Conservatives Don’t Understand Meaning of “Contempt”

 The gamesmanship and follies at our Canadian parliament came to a halt last week, as the opposition parties gave the Conservative government their marching orders on a vote of non-confidence, based on a motion of “contempt”. The Opposition parties, leveraged by the Speaker’s ruling believe that the Conservatives have withheld vital information and misled Canadians in many instances.

 Even as Prime Minister Harper gave his somber faced farewell speech in the lobby of the House of Commons last Friday, he refused to acknowledge why his government was defeated. By thus refusing, Harper ironically piled on even more contempt for Canadians and their right to know how this government operates.  He gave his typical, unimaginative speech attacking the Opposition parties for calling an election, for which the Conservatives have already spent $26 million of taxpayer money in pre-election spending. 

 I’ll leave it for the journalists and party followers to research the Conservative record, the Liberal and NDP  platforms, but after following many elections over the years, I have come to the conclusion that no matter which party wins the election, then that party should be voted out the next time.

 Why?  All governing parties inevitably end up in a cesspool of broken promises, deceits, lies, and underhanded deal making once they have had a couple of years in power. Look at McGuinty and the provincial Liberals. He gets the award for breaking the most promises in the shortest period of time. Such is the outcome with majority governments. Contempt is rampant.

H1N1 Vaccine Combined with Seasonal Flu Shot- Big Pharma Changes Tactics!

The manipulation used to market the H1N1 vaccine around the world last year left global taxpayers holding the bag on billions of dollars paid to Big Pharma, to fight a ‘pandemic’ that never materialized.

 It seems though that the rules of the game have changed, as the Global Elite were shocked as they watched the defeat of their vaccination program and a world population that refused to submit to fear tactics.

Don’t Change Canada’s Planned Exit From Afghanistan War in 2011!

Finally, some people are coming to their senses in regards to the ongoing war in Afghanistan- a war that has always been illegal because Afghanistan was never a threat to any foreign country, and therefore should never have been attacked and occupied.

Senator Colin Kenney, in a special article to the Ottawa Citizen dispels most of the myths that the public has been swallowing for the past 9 years, and urges an immediate withdrawal of Canadian forces, and by implication, all NATO troops from Afghanistan.

The Conservatives and their Liberal predecessors have made a colossal mistake in funding a war that will never be won, and have spent billions of taxpayer dollars in military spending including costly equipment and deployment.

One hundred and fifty Canadian families have lost their loved ones fighting overseas, and for what? The rallying cry of “Support our Troops” is the biggest propaganda stunt Canada has been involved in since WW2- a war funded by Wall Street and the Rockefellers.

Harper Government Gets High on Extradition of Marc Emery-the Prince of Pot

Mindelle Jacob’s recent story in Sun Media about the extradition of Marc Emery for selling marijuana seeds and his imminent 5 year sentence in the U.S.  contains a lot of relevant information, but unfortunately omits the most crucial argument in what is becoming another Harper government farce.

 Marc Emery, the Prince of Pot has been a marijuana activist in Canada for more than 20 years, and has been selling mail order marijuana seeds from Canada, with the full knowledge of the Canadian government.  He has paid thousands of dollars in taxes to the government on the revenue from selling seeds, and Health Canada even recommended that medical pot patients contact Emery for their supply source.

 

CIBC Visa Cardholders Charged More Interest in Ontario than in Quebec

 In the April CIBC VISA card statements, an updated Cardholder Agreement was enclosed explaining some recent changes.

 Written in legal language that is difficult to read and understand, as of September 1, 2010 cardholders will be paying more interest on their purchases. It matters not that banks continually show record- breaking profits even during a recession, they consistently change the rules to skim more profit from the working class and middle class people.

 I contacted the CIBC VISA Centre to confirm my understanding of these changes.  Here is a concrete example of how the new policy is intended to work.

Conservatives Using ‘Crime’ to Deflect Attention from Canadians’ Real Needs

 

 According to a report in the Toronto media last weekend, Carol Goar reported that the crime rate across Canada is at a 26 year low. I think this is good news for Canada, and we should be celebrating that kind of information. In simple terms, statistically Canada is a safe place to live.

 

Here in Cornwall I am aware that the crime rate has been reduced also over the past five years and Cornwall Police Services have played a big role in that achievement.

 

However, just like clockwork I received yet another flyer from MP Guy Lauzon this time telling me that the Conservative government wants to get tougher on crime.  But why would we spend more tax dollars on Corrections Canada when the crime rate has bottomed out?

Are We Ready For More Global ‘Shock Therapy’ in 2010?

Naomi Klein’s, The Shock Doctrine  was one of the best books in the last decade to spell out how the world is moving quickly towards a global, fascist government, disguised as a benevolent democracy,  in which nation states are brought to their knees at a moment’s notice. Economic shock therapy of all kinds, is the cheapest, most effective way to widen the gap between the rich and the poor, which has always been the goal of the Elite.

 Attacking the Chicago School and Milton Friedman, Klein shows in chapter after chapter in her latest book, that Friedman’s notion of bringing about rapid change could only happen effectively when people are deliberately “shocked” by their governments and leaders.

 Friedman traveled the world to bring this message to politicians. After a natural disaster, terrorist threat, economic downturn, biological warfare such as a flu virus, or starting a war are all examples of the conditions that are necessary before a government can bring about the change it desires.

 Remember the ‘shock and awe’ of the invasion of Iraq. The newspapers and the television networks did their part in promoting the illegal war, with the Orwellian doublespeak at the bottom of the television screens, “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” In this case the people of Iraq were being shocked and terrorized, and the American people(most unknowingly) had their Constitution and their Bill of Rights gutted by the Patriot Act.  Huge steps were made in advancing a Police State in the U.S. from 2001 to the present.

North American Union Rears its Head: Do Harper Conservatives Want American Police Forces to Have Jursidiction Here?

I would like to respond to the recent story in the media regarding the grand opening of the RCMP headquarters on Tollgate Road in Cornwall.  Cornwall is a small city in Ontario on the St. Lawrence River, and is on the Canadian/US border. When I see an event like this with all the dignitaries and the politicians present, I like to find out if there’s a hidden agenda. Often there is one.

Without any explanation it was reported that among the policing partners at the new RCMP headquarters would be the New York State Police force?