Letter to my Friends in America

Dear Friends:

It has been some time since I wrote a letter since we have all these new technologies. There is an app for everything under the Sun yet we rarely talk face to face. I prefer the conversations over a good cup of coffee to a line of text any day of the week.

As you know I remain disconnected from the fantasy world of television. I stopped by to see Anita and she had one of those devices playing. In two hours there were twenty-two violent deaths portrayed on two of the shows. Apparently the programs are in their 9th or 10th season due to people being big fans. I’ve often wondered what the relationship to watching so much death has to being happy about war.

Later I headed over to see Nash. You remember him from years ago. He keeps his children busy playing video games or watching television. I couldn’t help myself from making a comment about the 70 inch screen being plastered with blood from the video games. Nash shrugged and talked about how is doing much better after the third divorce. He and his new spouse are expecting a baby soon. They currently have five children between nine to eighteen years old. I thought it would be prying to ask if the children get confused about the parent thing. I’ve never believed the village has any control over the wishes of a family.

The Internet remains a great place to meet people and stop for a chat. After the Bush Jr. debacle it is difficult to  believe an election could be so dramatic. I always thought the person with the most votes gets to be the President. That election proved me wrong.

I pulled a short story from my daily journals started when I was nine. As children we would spend our summers at the cottage. It was a log cabin deep in the wilderness without electricity. About twenty cottages built on the shores of McKenzie Lake made summer a wonderful experience. Great fishing, swimming, chopping wood along with many other chores gave it a lively time. Evenings sitting near a fire on the sandy beach is embedded deep in my consciousness. My friends and I would talk for hours under the starlit night sky. Everyone except big Tim, age fifteen, were between ten and twelve years old. There was a radar base operated by the U.S. military nearby. The young soldiers, 18 or 19 years old, would often visit for a home cooked meal or to let us kids know the events they planned for us.

Our summer cottage at McKenzie Lake

One particular night in August one of the soldiers sat with us at the beach fire. They were always welcome to join us and tell stories. He appeared restless and asked us how fast we could get to the base. We told him it would take less than a ten minute run with Tim declaring he could run faster.

As he looked at each of us words slowly fell from his lips. “There are often problems when adults forget how to talk to one another. We have a situation where a few of them are getting angry with each other. Promise me, the next time you hear the air raid siren, you will run to the base and we will do our best to protect you.” We made a promise to him because he was cute too. Nature gave us a hot summer including her wind, rain, thunder and lightning.

When we were back in town I could hear his words as the sirens wailed daily, or more, during September and October. There was no safe place to run so Mom, my younger brother and I huddled under the basement steps. Even today I can hear the air raid sirens in my dreams. Those 13 days during October, 1962 were terrifying.

Despite all the rhetoric spread everywhere today we became friends with the people who played a major role in winning World War II. The cold war ended long ago and I am happy it did. I was re-united with family in Russia and Ukraine after the Berlin Wall came crashing down. For a brief moment I felt a very beautiful sense of peace.

I know you have an important day coming up to elect your next President. This I can promise you as a citizen of the world. I will always be your friend as will the people of Russia. We are counting on you to vote on November 6, 2016 and bring those adults into the room to talk.

I hope before I die those air raid sirens will stop messing with my dreams.

“For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” President John F. Kennedy June 1963

Nikita Khrushchev and President Kennedy hold nuclear peace talks

 

 

 

PM Trudeau Government Promises

Election 2015 Promises made by the Liberal Government of Canada under Justin Trudeau. The 117 promises listed here are from Liberal Real Change booklet presented to Canadians during the election. You are welcome to add other promises made in the comments section. Promises marked in red are already considered broken. Update: PM Trudeau said there are 122 promises on March, 23, 2016

As a member of Jewish Voice for Peace my vision of Canada rising on the world stage took a dive on February 22, 2016. CTV reported “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have joined forces with the official Opposition to overwhelmingly approve a Conservative motion condemning all Canadians who promote the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.”

Before anyone or any news outlet calls people participating in BDS anti-Semitic they might want to understand the word. Rabbi Ruth Adar recently wrote about the topic. “Actually, there’s no such thing. Semitic is a designation for a “language group” that includes Arabic, Amharic, Aramaic, Tigrinya, and Hebrew.”

The Trudeau government abused the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by condemning Canadians over and above abuses included in Bill C-51. 

It is our duty to ensure the elected government is held responsible for the promises. We have many long neglected domestic issues to handle. Remarks below in italic are mine.

1. We will give families more money to help with the high cost of raising their kids.

2. We will give middle class Canadians a tax break, by making taxes more fair.

 3. We will cancel income splitting and other tax breaks and benefits for the wealthy.

 4. We will invest to create more jobs and better opportunities for young Canadians.

 5. We will provide Canadians with a more secure retirement. (Will be writing an article about this plus 7 and 8 based on Federal Budget 2016)

 6. We will not end pension income splitting for seniors.

 7. We will make it easier for Canadians to have an affordable place to call home. (link takes you too a project where low income Canadians are placed out of sight)

 8. We will make post-secondary education more affordable.

 9. We will make home care more available, prescription drugs more affordable, and mental health care more accessible.

 10. We will also lift more Canadians, including children and seniors, out of poverty. (To understand poverty Statistics Canada requires funding to define poverty. No additional funding is shown in Budget 2016. Canada signed the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. One of the goals is defining poverty)

 11. We will invest now in the projects our country needs and the people who can build them.

 12. We will invest in public transit to shorten commute times, cut air pollution, strengthen our communities, and grow our economy.

 13. We will strengthen our communities by investing in the things that make them good places to live. (in fact most of this is a Provincial matter in conjunction with municipalities so they can build their pet projects. No accounting for very bad taste and wasted dollars in the hundreds of millions)

 14. We will invest in sustainable infrastructure that makes our communities safer and more resilient. (PM Trudeau better check out some of the craziest projects underway)

 15 We will make the New Building Canada Fund more focused and more transparent.

 16. We will make sure that no money intended for investment in communities is allowed to lapse.

 17. We will establish the Canadian Infrastructure Bank to provide low-cost financing for new infrastructure projects. (How many billions set aside for infrastructure will go to Canadian businesses rather than oversee?)

 18. We will help Canadians get the training they need to find and keep good jobs.

 19. We will kick start investment in innovation to grow our economy and create good, middle class jobs. (explain good middle class jobs)

 20. We will continue to defend Canadian interests during trade negotiations, including supply management. (why is the Trans Pacific Partnership kept secret from Canadians?)

 21. We will reinstate a modernized and inclusive fair wages policy for federal procurement.

 22. We are strongly committed to supporting and protecting workers’ rights, and as government, we will bargain in good faith with Canada’s public sector unions.

 23. We will make parental benefits more flexible

 24. We will introduce a more flexible and inclusive benefit available to any Canadian who provides care to a seriously ill family member. (He skipped Edmonton even though he stated it was inclusive)

 25. We will fix Employment Insurance to better serve Canadians now, and help boost Canada’s economic growth now and in the long-term.

 26. We will develop a child care framework that meets the needs of Canadian families, wherever they live.

 27. We will do our part to help Canadian children live healthier lives, with less exposure to known health risks.

 28. We will introduce a new tax benefit to help teachers and early childhood educators with the cost of school supplies.

 29. We will invest in Canada’s North, to help northern Canadians with the high cost of living, and help our northern economies grow.

 30. It is time to shine more light on government and ensure that it remains focused on the people it is meant to serve. (until PM Trudeau tells Canadians how the massive Federal bureaucracy runs the country this one is red)

 31. We will embrace open data. (started under the Harper government)

 32. We will disclose Parliamentary expenses and make Parliament open by default.

 33. We will protect the integrity of our elections and encourage more Canadians to vote.

 34. We will establish an independent commission to organize leaders’ debates.

 35. We will make every vote count. (or is it count every vote?)

 36. We will restore the voter identification card as an acceptable form of identification.

 37. We will also increase penalties so that there are real deterrents for deliberately breaking our election laws.

 38. We will bring real change to the Senate. (hopefully abolishing it completely. He is going to keep the pigs at the trough now that he appointed more senators)

 39. We will reform Question Period so that all members, including the Prime Minister, are held to greater account. (Trudeau government no longer allows full download of Question Period and other committee meetings for use on websites)

 40. We will not resort to legislative tricks to avoid scrutiny. (condemning all Canadians who promote boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) is trickery)

 41. We will not interfere with the work of government watchdogs.

 42. We will make the Supreme Court appointment process more transparent. (it doesn’t matter since every Federal and Provincial politician and judge make an Oath of Allegiance to the Queen of England. No Oath is given to Canadians, the Constitution or The Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

 43. We will make the Parliamentary Budget Officer truly independent.

 44. We will provide better oversight of taxpayer dollars. (Will Canadians be given the cost of wars in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and other meddling)

 45. We will deliver stronger national security oversight. (Patronage appointments)

 46. We will also invest an additional $80 million, over four years, to help the Canada Revenue Agency crack down on tax evaders.

 (fact)  – haunting a tax payer over a balance owed without ever showing the person what the debt is based on is wrong. Cutting benefits to an 87 year old Canadian and sending her a letter stating she needs to prove she is Canadian. Family arrived in Canada prior to 1800 AD)

 47. We will save home mail delivery.

 48. We will build a government as diverse as Canada. (do men and women get the same pay? If so, then, why is it not the same for all Canadians)

 49. We will involve young people in government.

 50. We will consider the gender impacts of the decisions we make.

 51. We will deliver easy online access to government services.

 52. We will establish new performance standards for federal services.(create major new forms to fill out using up a forest for the paper used)

 53. We will involve Canadians in policy-making. (Patronage appointments)

 54. We will value science and treat scientists with respect.

 55. We will make Statistics Canada fully independent. (Budget 2016 does not allocate any new funding to Statistics Canada)

 56. We will make decisions using the best data available and will invest only in programs proven to offer good value.

 57. We will provide national leadership and join with the provinces and territories to take action on climate change, put a price on carbon, and reduce carbon

 58. We will protect our communities from the challenges of climate change and grow our economy by making significant new investments in green infrastructure. (the only true green energy is solar power. Wind and tidal use huge quantities of non-renewable resources during construction and maintenance)

 59. We will fulfill our G20 commitment and phase out subsidies for the fossil fuel industry over the medium-term.

 60. We will also work in partnership with the United States and Mexico to develop an ambitious North American clean energy and environmental agreement.

 61. We will also work closely with the provinces and territories to develop a Canadian Energy Strategy to protect Canada’s energy security; encourage energy conservation; and bring cleaner, renewable energy onto the electricity grid. (Patronage appointments)

 62. We will immediately review Canada’s environmental assessment processes and introduce new, fair processes

 63. We will modernize the National Energy Board, ensuring that its composition reflects regional views and has sufficient expertise in fields like environmental science, community development, and Indigenous traditional knowledge. (Patronage appointments)

 64. We recognize the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the land, and will respect legal traditions and perspectives on environmental stewardship.

 65. We will also do more to protect Canada’s endangered species

 66. We will protect our freshwater and oceans. (Does this mean Victoria, B.C. will stop dumping 82 million litres of raw sewage per day into the Pacific Ocean?)

 67. We will treat our freshwater as a precious resource that deserves protection and careful stewardship.(such as building a nuclear waste dump 1.6 km from Lake Huron?)

 68. We will preserve and promote Canada’s National Parks.

 69. We will make it more affordable for more Canadians to visit and appreciate our National Parks

 70. We will renew the relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples.

 71. We will work with First Nations to make sure that every First Nations child receives a quality education.

 72. We will provide new funding to help Indigenous communities promote and preserve Indigenous languages and cultures.

 73. We will work with the Métis Nation to improve the quality of life for Métis individuals and communities.

 74. We will work, on a nation-to-nation basis, with the Métis Nation to advance reconciliation and renew the relationship, based on cooperation, respect for rights, our international obligations, and a commitment to end the status quo.

 75. We will work with Métis people, as well as the provinces and territories, to establish a federal claims process that recognizes Métis self-government and resolves outstanding claims.

 76. We will also make permanent the funding available to provincial Métis communities for Métis identification and registration, instead of it being available year-to-year.

 77. We will review, in partnership with Métis communities, the existing federal programs and services available to the Métis Nation, to identify gaps and areas where strategic investments can be made to improve Métis quality of life. (Patronage appointments)

 78. We will develop a Métis Economic Development Strategy in partnership with Métis communities and existing Métis financial institutions, and will invest $25 million over five years to implement this new strategy. (Patronage appointments)

 79. We will immediately launch a national public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. (immediately as in when?)

 80. We will enact the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

 81. We will give veterans more compensation, more choice, and more support in planning their financial future.

 82. We will honour the service of our veterans and provide new career opportunities through a new Veterans Education Benefit.

 83. We will make it easier for veterans to access services, including mental health services.

 84. We will do more to support the families of Canada’s veterans. (What is currently being done?)

 85. We will give more support to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, and ensure that more perpetrators are brought to justice. (a man beheads a 19 year old on a bus and the same man is free to roam the streets kind of justice?)

 86. We will repeal the problematic elements of Bill C-51, and introduce new legislation that better balances our collective security with our rights and freedoms.

87. We will create another bureaucracy called the Office of the Community Outreach and Counter-radicalization coordinator. (Patronage appointments)

 88. We will take action to get handguns and assault weapons off our streets.

 89. We will legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana. (do you know the loopholes to do this without breaking treaties?)

 90. We will reverse cuts and make new investments to support our national broadcaster.

 91. We will review the process by which members are appointed to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors, to ensure merit-based and independent appointments. (Patronage appointments)

 92. We will be doubling investment in the Canada Council for the Arts to $360 million each year. (only pigs currently at the trough know how to fill out the applications)

 93. We will encourage and promote the use of Canada’s official languages.

 94. We will offer greater financial security to the families of disabled or deceased public safety officers, and deliver a new plan to address PTSD.

 95. We will make it easier for immigrants to build successful lives in Canada, and contribute to the economic success of all Canadians.

 96. We will take immediate steps to reopen Canada’s doors, and will make reuniting families a top priority.

 97. We will immediately double the number of applications allowed for parents and grandparents, to 10,000 each year. (how is this funded?)

 98. We will make it more affordable for Canadian workers to send money overseas. (including Cayman Islands?)

 99. We will make it easier and more affordable to hire care givers

 100. We will welcome more refugees from Syria to Canada, and offer more help to those providing aid in the region.

 101. We will also provide a new contribution of $100 million this fiscal year to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to support critical relief activities in the region.

 102. We will restore Canada’s reputation and help more people in need through a program that is safe, secure, and humane.

 103. We will consult with Canadian and international aid organizations to review current policies and funding frameworks that will refocus our aid priorities on poverty reduction.

 104. We will renew and repair our relationships with our North American partners.

 105. We will work with the United States and Mexico to develop a continent-wide clean energy and environment agreement. (Patronage appointments)

 106. We will restore Canadian leadership in the world.

 107. We will recommit to supporting international peace operations with the United Nations, and will make our specialized capabilities, from mobile medical teams to engineering support to aircraft that can carry supplies and personnel, available on a case-by-case basis.

 108. We will not buy the F-35 stealth fighter-bomber and find a more affordable alternatives to the F-35

 109. These investments will ensure that the Royal Canadian Navy is able to operate as a true blue-water maritime force, while also growing our economy and creating jobs. (Can we return to being called Canadian Armed Forces and ditch the word Royal)

 110. We will put a renewed focus on surveillance and control of Canadian territory and approaches, particularly our Arctic regions, and will increase the size of the Canadian Rangers. (Will you work with every country bordering the Arctic on an Arctic Treaty)

 111. We will assist in domestic security and natural disaster responses, both at home and abroad. (domestic surveillance)

 112. We will implement the recommendations made in the Canadian Forces’ Report on Transformation.

 113. We will end Canada’s combat mission in Iraq. (not quite but close)

 114. We will remain fully committed to Canada’s existing military contributions in Central and Eastern Europe and NATO. (NATO is redundant since their is no longer a Warsaw Pact. NATO was formed to protect us against the Soviet hypothetical threat)

 115. We will cancel child benefit cheques for millionaires so that we can increase child benefits for the middle class and those working to join it.

 116. We will increase the marginal tax rate on Canada’s top one percent so that we can cut taxes for the middle class. (be honest since the wealthiest have many ways to avoid paying any taxes)

 117. We will conduct a review of all tax expenditures to target tax loopholes that particularly benefit Canada’s top one percent. (Patronage appointments)

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Trudeau Trounces Politics of Enmity

One of the essential skills of democratic politics is to know the difference between an enemy and an adversary. An adversary wants to defeat you. An enemy wants to destroy you. If you treat your opponents as the enemy, you conduct politics as if it

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After nine years of partisan rancour in the nation’s politics, this set a new tone. Mr Trudeau’s victory proved, he said, that you can conduct a democratic campaign without attack adverts or cheap shots at rivals. “You can appeal to the better angels of our nature,” he said, “and you can win.”

Source: Trudeau trounces the politics of enmity – FT.com

Canadian Environment – Election 2015

Canadians vote on Monday, October 13. 2015

During a short discussion with a Conservative she stated: “What does it matter how the world sees Canada” My response was simple. “Do you see any Canadian connectivity with the world?” End of discussion.

Canada is Connected to every Person on the Planet

Where was the debate about Canada’s contribution to world-wide pollution?

A major environmental shift is underway and will likely cause a much shorter lifespan for humans on planet. Some call it climate change or global warming. Others, much wiser, look at it as a shift in the environment between a livable and non-livable habitat.

The Green Party has a narrow view. They pick on one industry while skipping over their own backyard. It is a common thread now to blame someone else while tossing your trash in the Oceans. The Green Party get excited about electric cars and using a bicycle in Vancouver. It is a common delusion, without a minute of thought, as to where and how the electricity is generated.Here are two charts for the Green Party supporters

Blue – Hydro Electric, Pink – Natural Gas, Orange – Diesel

What the map conveniently does not include is shown in the next chart. British Columbia imports of electricity in a deficit. Under the Columbia Basin Treaty the US supplies free nuclear powered electricity to British Columbia.

Canadians consume massive amounts of oil and gas. Your electricity for the most part comes from coal and diesel generating power plants. Ontario is using Nuclear Power while Quebec uses Hydro. Our Maritime Provinces use imported oil. Ontario wants to bury its Nuclear Waste 1 km. from the Great Lakes.

Our larger cities seek billions to expand public transit systems used by a small part of the population. Roads and highways are constantly under construction. The newest insane plan involves spending 100s of millions on bicycle lanes in our ever so warm winter climate.

Big oil companies, most of them US owned, were allowed to create the oil sands project in Alberta. The former Conservative government of Alberta placed little or no restrictions on the clean up process. Newly elected Premiere Rachel Notley has 40 years of Conservative neglect on her governments hands.

Let’s get to the point on how Canada is connected to the world

Canada gives the air a toxic aroma,

Canada daily dumps trillions of liters raw sewage into the rivers and oceans,

Canada pollutes the land and aquifers with hydraulic fracturing chemicals,

Canada uses vehicles that consume ever-increasing amounts of fuel tossing the carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,

Canada for the last 10 years, under Harper’s Conservatives, used 30% of our food grain to create bio-fuel.

Canada, under the Conservatives, sold the Wheat Board to Saudi Arabia, putting independent Canadian farmers at risk of collapse.

All life on the planet is connected

Five years ago Russia invited Canada to a meeting to open discussions about the Arctic Ocean. Harper and the Conservatives refused the invitation. Our two countries border on 80% of the Arctic Ocean. Of course, not to be outdone, Justin Trudeau recently said he would slap the President of the Russian Federation’s face. That would be a wise move at the beginning of talks for an Arctic Treaty. The United States has overblown their importance about the Arctic since their tiny sliver barely hits 2% of the Arctic boundaries.

Everything we do in Canada does affect the world and Canadians. As an environment caretaker we are rated near the bottom. The education system in Canada fell from the top 5 to 69th since Harper’s Conservatives took office. Scientists were silenced by Harper about the same time he burned Canada’s scientific libraries.

When will Canada step up as a World Leader to Clean up the Environment?

What I am about to suggest is done with the greatest amount of sincerity. To those willing to vote for the Green Party please reconsider your vote. In many ridings your vote will let the Conservatives slip up the middle and win the seat. Look up the stats on the Elections Canada website. It happened in over 20 ridings. Consider what Canadians did to Brian Mulroney by leaving the Conservatives with 2 seats in Parliament.

Your turn will come after we have ensured a total defeat of Harper and his Conservatives on October 19, 2015. Where you know there is a high possibility of a Green Party win make it happen. You already have official party status in the House of Commons.

Please watch this 8 minutes video prepared for all Canadians.

October 19th, Election Day, Remember Who We Are As Canadians

There is nothing intrinsically “Canadian,” let alone “conservative,” about leveraging insecurity, racism and xenophobia for votes through ethnic scapegoating. That is not a “conservative” strategy; it’s a fascist strategy with a long and bloody history, and it has no place in Canada. On October 19th, we have a chance to “take our country back.” We have the chance to declare once and for all that who and what we are as Canadians is no longer for sale. We have a chance to steer Canada off its collision course with history, to save it from derailing and crashing beyond our ability to recognize it, let alone repair it.

Source: On October 19th, Let’s Remember Who We Are As Canadians | Michael Rowe

Media Manipulation of Canadian Election

When honesty and frankness make you vulnerable …Be honest and frank anyway

It was never my intention to write an article every day as the Federal Election unrolled across our country.The Canadian media in every form are manipulating the voters with their polls no matter how ridiculous they look. Since all of the media is owned by a small group, it puts the voter in a state of mind, as to whether voting is necessary.

In fact it is of far greater interest to me watching the political dance between President Obama and President Putin. The propaganda battle started by the U.S. against Russia began with the Sochi Games followed by the coup d’état in Ukraine. Current PM Stephen Harper followed the US line and took Canada into a war against Syria and Iraq. Our two major TV media outlets CBC and CTV regurgitated the same stories being played out on all big TV media in the United States.

In a very unscientific poll I asked exactly 100 Canadian citizens one question. Are you aware that Stephen Harper and his Conservatives declared war on Syria and Iraq? Six of the one hundred knew Canada was at war. Harper being clever as ever hid Canada under the all-encompassing banner of NATO. The fact that Canada is a member of NATO was used as a way to camouflage the topic by our own media. Rather than give Canadians the facts on our involvement the media covered it up with NATO led air strikes.

How it was being paid for while Canadians go hungry is of no importance to mainstream media.

Based on US Senate foreign relations Committee information anyone can add up the cost in dollars. One F-18, including all personnel, fuel, maintenance etc., is $16,000.00 per day. One group in the US who keep track of war costs say it is closer to $160,000.00 per day.

Canada is currently using six during Harper’s war in Syria and Iraq. We better make the F-18s useful by purchasing missiles to fire and kill people in both countries. Cost per missile $1,750,000.00 each with 465 used to date. All of the costs listed are in Canadian dollars. Add 30% to figure out the dollars tossed away by Harper and his Conservatives. Costs for the support aircraft and navy would be a guess.

Canada played a major role bombing Libya to rubble, knocking our water, sewer, electricity, ports and major highways. Stephen Harper and his Conservatives hid under the NATO banner and so did our media. Six F-18s and 900 missiles plus support aircraft and three battle frigates were used.

What did Muammar Gaddafi do to anger the United States? He abolished the US backed monarchy and held elections for Parliament. Then he nationalized the oil and gas industry. Within ten years poverty in Libya was eliminated.

The Refugee Crisis

Refugees fleeing from Libya, Syria and Iraq make up the largest part of the number. Did our media mention the cause of these people leaving their countries? One media outlet said it was due to climate change. I scan up to fifty media websites and blogs every morning from around the world. If you are using Google you will not see what is being said in other countries due to Google censorship. Most likely the comment came from another Donate Now environmental group.

Harper and his Conservatives are responsible in a big part for people fleeing their homes. Missiles and bombs dropped on people are not the same as a video game or movie. Try to imagine a deadly missile dropped on your house, business or apartment building. You cannot smell the stench of decaying bodies via your 62″ high-resolution television.

Domestic Issues

For the cost of 2 missiles a group of police officers would be directed to find the 1000 plus missing indigenous persons – mostly female.

2 missiles to rectify the damage done to our good name at the United Nations.

30 missiles to give our veterans proper treatment and pensions.

5 missiles to hold a summit with the nations surrounding the Arctic for an Arctic Treaty similar to the one for Antarctica.

20 missiles would pay for a national program aimed at funding Canadians who are willing to invest matching dollars to live on a small farm growing healthy food.

Abolish the Senate for a saving of $400,000,000.00

Break all ties with the monarchy of England. Abolish all offices related to the monarchy (lieutenant governor, governor-general etc.) saving another $400,000,000.00

Immediate halt to building an armaments industry such as the one Harper announced during the debate last week. He wants to sell weapons to the monarchy of Saudi Arabia. I thought Gilles Duceppe summed it up rather thoughtfully when he said “what the f**k…”

Stop the planned nuclear waste dump 1 km from Lake Huron on the Great Lakes.

Halt any further omnibus bills and bring in each Bill separate to Parliament.

Canadians want a budget each and every spring. No more 10 year plan with updates the way the Conservatives do it. Sounds terribly similar to Stalin. Canadians are aware this country is in an economic depression. Stop lying to us as if you were Stalin.

10 missiles would pay to increase funding to Elections Canada. Help Elections Canada encourage more Canadians to vote and fulfill its’ policies.

Stop Criminalizing Marijuana. Over a million Canadians carry a felony charge for possessing less than 29 grams of pot. Those criminals records can and do ruin a person’s opportunity to advance in many lines of work. World wide, there are jurisdictions at the national and local levels exploring more effective alternatives to the failed, criminalization focused drug war.

Live up to Canada’s commitment to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services. The right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond their control.

Canada is at the top of the list for the most taxed country in the world. Yet we do not have a measure of poverty in a country filled with wealth for the few. If you call me a socialist get ready for a knuckle thumping. Why are over a million Canadians using Food Banks from coast to coast? Why are Canadians using up to 65% of their income to pay landlords sky-high rent? Canada made a pledge to the United Nations to find a workable solution on poverty. The Conservatives made a decision to avoid the issue, while slashing pensions, allowing over four million Canadians to slide into poverty.

What do the oligarchs who own most of the media have to say?

How can we have diversity of opinion within Canada’s media monopoly? Canadians watch, read and listen to US media where the oligarchs have a tighter hold. You get the same opinion or bias regardless. Different logo still the same owner. Chart was made in 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next article: Our environmental related activity and how everyone can help nature repair the damage. Break the oligarch strangle hold by turning off the television. Your opinion counts at the Polling Station where you vote.

Canadian Party Leader’s Debate

Why are the other party leaders allowing PM Harper to decide whether their should be debates? Liberals, NDP, Bloc Québécois and Green Party could hold a debate without Harper’s consent. It would draw a larger audience. The number of Canadians who watched the recent so-called debates dropped to 1 million from more than 11 million in past elections.

My thoughts are one debate from Quebec and one from Alberta in a University setting. Universities are an excellent place to hold real debates. They also have the means and ability, to hold a lively debate by selecting people from various sectors, to ask questions. Perhaps the University could allow short questions from the live audience. What a novel idea. The two I picked are my choices one in French and one in English.

With almost four weeks until the election on October 19 Universities are capable of staging the debates. Pick a host who knows the rules of debating for starters. Any local or national media would be welcome to broadcast the debates. The use of Livestream and YouTube Live should be included.

This would put Canada back in the Election with or without PM Harper participating. An election date is set by the PM after getting consent from the Queen of England’s representative in Canada. In our semi-democratic Parliamentary system Canadians set the agenda by drawing attention to our concerns. Otherwise we are living in a dictatorship. Or are we already there?

Very few Canadians viewed the so-called debates. They were so dry I had no spit. More akin to watching paint dry with questions so flat Elizabeth May had more fun on Twitter.

Please help spread the message to those who want real debates. First to heed the call will have fun showcasing your University.

Elections Canada awaits your registration or simple inquiry on whether you are registered.

 

 

Honesty is the Best Policy

Another federal election called by Stephen Harper is upon us in Canada.

In order for me to write about the issues let me disclose the following. I have no hidden agenda. Anything I say is done in my name and therefore my responsibility. I do not belong to any political party nor am I affiliated with any of them. I do not financially support any of the political parties. Over the decades, as a commercial producer, I did work for the Liberal Party, the original Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party. It was strictly a matter of producing commercials to be aired Federally or Provincially.

Further, I do not belong to any environmental group or organization, nor do I support any of them financially.

As far as other groups world wide I belong to one, The Jewish Voice for Peace, an open association of activists. Give what I can financially once a year. I am certain the association will continue despite my twenty-five to thirty dollar contribution.

During my early years in college I also began working in radio.

A few decades ago there were live people doing everything that needed to get done. We researched music and news stories for background information before they were broadcast. It made college life fun while studying broadcast communications, business accounting and economics.

The Province of Ontario was experimenting with education, as the government opened colleges, across the Province. Professors or Instructors were required to have 20-30 years work experience in their related fields before they were hired. This gave us more than a purely academic viewpoint. Mixed with their field experience, we learned to look at subject areas with an open mind approach, as opposed to one from a close minded textbook.

My purpose is to give you a sincere look at the landscape of Canada as we move towards voting on October 19, 2015. There are many topics: environment, economics, taxation, veterans, wars, justice, human rights, healthcare, poverty, women’s equality, first nations, NATO, terrorism acts, privacy and international agreements to discuss.

First and most important.. Are you registered to vote in this election? Here is where you can register and find out if your are registered.

In Canada Backgrounder

It Started nearly Six Months Ago

First a short description to Americans or anyone outside Canada reading this article. It may be educational for most Canadians, who remain completely clueless, about the Federal Government of Canada.

A Federal election is normally held every 4 years in Canada. Unlike the United States Canadians do not vote for the Prime Minister. The person who gets the top job in Ottawa is elected by his or her political Party as the leader. Today Stephen Harper the leader of the Conservative Party, much akin to the Republican Party in many ways is the Prime Minister of Canada.  In each Riding one person needs to be elected by a majority of the people. In Canada we officially have a Liberal, Conservative, New Democrat, Bloc Québécois  and Green Party. There are over a dozen smaller political parties, plus a person can run in a Federal Election, as an Independent. We call these elected officials our MP for Member of Parliament known as the House of Commons. These Members of Parliament are considered the Lower House, and in comparison, are similar to the U.S. Congress. The next group is the Upper Chamber, called The Senate,  and are appointed by the Prime Minister without any support of vote by Canadians.

Our country Canada is classified as a Parliamentary Democracy, a Federation, and a Constitutional Monarchy.  (Thank you to the CIA who do a terrific job of keeping their website up to date.) 

Canada is based on a 14th Century style of government, with a touch of the Feudal system, for good measure. Canadians are saddled with an unelected bureaucracy at the Federal level to the Provincial, down to the City, County and Towns, along with thousands of Commissions. (the commissions link is simply to show search results) The number of people employed full and part time is near 1.5 million for a population of 34 million citizens. When added together the cost to Canadians takes up 30% of the annual budget for salaries and lucrative pensions.

To show you how 14th Century Canada truly is, you need to look no further than the Oath of Allegiance, made by our political and judicial members. An Oath is sacred to most, and in the majority of nations, political leaders promise to uphold the Constitution of their country. In doing so they also promise under Oath to represent the people.

Canadian Member of Parliament and the unelected Senate do not swear any Oath to Canada, it’s Charter, it’s Constitution or the people of Canada. They give their Oath of Allegiance as follows:

Take another look at the CIA website for an unbiased description of the various levels of government. The link for the Annual Budget is from a source I usually do not use, however, in this case it is the most accurate available.

 

 

 

Canada is often criticized for the cost of our Universal Health Care system by the uninformed right wingers in the United States. The cost is 3% of the Annual Budget to cover every person living in Canada to have Health Care coverage. Yes the system does have some problems, although no Canadian ever had to declare bankruptcy or die, while waiting to see a Doctor.  Costs such as prescriptions are often paid for or partially covered depending on various circumstances.

 

 

Everything written here today is meant as a backgrounder to upcoming blogs and videos. The Occupy movement is strong in most of Canada, along with protests, on environmental and electoral issues.

The Election Scandal