Archive for September, 2006

Can’t See The Forest For The Trees

Author: Ian

Sep 30

It seems that way too many are obsessed with only looking at the result, rather than attempting to look for viable solutions that go beyond personal bias and dislikes. I mean take the whole issue of Bullying that is rampant in many schools today. It seems to me that perhaps we need to examine why such behaviour exists, and even how we can find ways to end such tactics.

Perhaps if we did more of that, then less schools might get shot up by frustrated ‘over the edge kids’ which frankly, seems to be on an increase. I mean we had the school hostages and deaths not more than a week ago, and now a school principle as well. Were is all this going to end? Another Columbine?

Right now adding gays to the protected list in a Iowa Anti Bully bill has been stalled for three years because well, it includes gays in that protected list.

But the bill is tied up in the House where Republicans for three years have refused to consider the measure because its includes gays in a list of categories to be protected from harassment. ( full story )

Yet if you look at the recent killing of a School Principle, you have to wonder how any sane politicians can afford to let their personal bias and bigotry stop them from ending needless harassment. I mean seriously, if proper courses and training were made mandatory, would this Principle be dead today? I mean it kind of shows you, eventually some will find a violent way to react when they are simply pushed too far.

I don’t condone this 15 year old’s actions, but then maybe the Iowa Republicans and their counter parts elsewhere in the USA should take a closer look at how their hatred, their bigotry towards Gays has led to these type of situations. Look at the Gay Bashings that have been in the news these days and ask yourself, is this because people hate or because they feel it is okay to attack a minority when their political leaders do it daily, without repercussions?

According to court papers filed late Friday by the prosecutor in Sauk County Circuit Court Hainstock told police after he was taken into custody that students regularly bullied him – calling him “fag” and “faggot” and rubbed up against him. (full story)

Many who are abused aren’t necessarily abused physically, but mentally. I don’t know which is worse but both are scourges and yet it seems that way too many are willing to excuse bullying because well, its not a visible problem nor do many consider name calling all that bad. I wonder if the slain Principle would agree today about that?

You know, what you say and how you say it are important. It does have an effect. Hell when I have raised my voice at my dog, you can see how she knows it, how she looks and it rips my heart apart to know she is unhappy. Are humans any less sensitive than our four legged friends? It isn’t easy to always keep your mouth shut or to think before we speak, but damn it, when something like constant attacks occur, surely our Teachers and Educators must step in. How can they not?

Frankly I think all of this increase is a direct result of the so called Religious Movement that has happened over the last two decades or so. I firmly believe that in essence those claiming a higher calling to GOD’s words are faking it. Oh they may believe they are better Children of God, but are they when they allow their bias against gays to sway them from doing what is right?

Makes you wonder just what is GOD thinking about all this bigotry and bullying that goes on?

Bullying is not something we should ignore. Too many are now dead because we have ignored it, and perhaps this is just one more example of Man’s Intolerance to Man, simply because they are afraid of us. Why I haven’t a clue really but it does make you wonder at times. I see Stephen Harper with his vehemence or George Bush and his, and I wonder, what the hell did Gays ever do to them? What is it that makes them hate us Gays so much?

You have to wonder, where they perhaps victims of bullying when they were young?

Did they, like so many kids today, get called names?

Three-quarters of students surveyed across America said that over the past year they heard derogatory remarks such as “faggot” or “dyke” frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of ten reported hearing “that’s so gay” or “you’re so gay” – meaning stupid or worthless – frequently or often. ( full article )

Is the legacy that politicians like Stephen Harper and George Bush wish to leave behind? A legacy of hatred and scorn or worse?

Is this what Harper and Bush mean by returning to old fashioned Family Values?

Is this truly what Harper, Bush, and The Pope refer to as Being Good Christians?

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Filed under: Doing What's Right

Public Apology

Author: Ian

Sep 29

It is refreshing to see that when someone or some department does something wrong, that the people in charge assume responsibility and acknowledge it publicly. More is when they apologize for the mistakes and show that they are attempting to correct the problems that gave rise to the incident. True, it isn’t going to get Mr Arar the year back or erase the pain he must have from being tortured for a year in Syria, but at least the RCMP have shown that they are mentsche (yiddish for man). Too bad our Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn’t one or his Master, George Bush.

Mr Zaccardelli said: “I wish to take this opportunity to express publicly to you and to your wife and to your children how truly sorry I am for whatever part the actions of the RCMP may have contributed to the terrible injustices that you experienced and the pain that you and your family endured.” ( full story )

While the report was pretty specific about the errors, I am wondering why the United States is saying virtually nothing on it, and worse, why Stephen Harper isn’t saying much. Why hasn’t he called Bush if he and Bush are such good friends? I mean he fought a campaign claiming he could get more done than the Liberals who were antagonistic.

Just where has Harper’s niceness gotten us?

Washington has said little about the Arar case.

Canada’s public safety minister said he has brought it again to the attention of the US homeland security chief, Michael Chertoff. ( full story )


Talk about two putzs, Stockwell Day and Michael Chertoff who together couldn’t come up with a decent answer on what two and two equals. Remember, Day is the one who mouthed off about Jews being children of the devil and Chertoff the guy who supported the need for FEMA to be under Homeland Security, not to mention how he’s also the guy in charge of the Mexican/USA border… that’s working real good though, only about 1.5 million illegals cross there annually.

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Filed under: War on Terror | Tagged as: , , , ,

Tell It Like It Is?

Author: Ian

Sep 28

So the British Columbia provincial government announced that it is going to spend $10 million on getting public input on the health care industry in the province and the NDP opposition calls it a political trick and the vaious health unions are skeptical that anything of value will come from it. Like geez, thats a surprise.

James said she doesn’t think the public is demanding more talk, although she hopes citizens will tell him exactly what they want from their health-care system.

Other critics, including the Hospital Employees’ Union, the B.C. Nurses Union and the B.C. Health Coalition say the process will open the door for more private health providers in the province. ( full story )

I don’t know anymore, whether it is something that suddenly happens when you become a politician or union leader but if someone wants to hear the side of the public, what the fuck is so wrong with that? Are they so worried that maybe the public will actually have a solution other than just throwing good money after bad?

To begin with I am totally opposed to a two tiered health care system for Canada. I have seen how that system works in the United States and with over 40 million Americans unable to have medical care, I think I’d rather have our system than theirs.

So why should my view on that not be heard by the Government?

Second, I am opposed to throwing money at salaries for Nurses, and Doctors who simply don’t do their job or care even about their job. I suppose that would be one reason the Union wouldn’t want to hear from people like me, and I am sure the NDP wouldn’t like it either, after all they might actually have to answer to why they support unions that bleed our system dry for little or no work.

With an elderly mother who is 89 I know first hand about our system and how it is NOT working for the benefit of elderly patients. I lost my father four years ago not really because he was critically ill, but simply because the Nursing Care was and still is SUB STANDARD.  Least to my Standards.

I’ll grant this, that our health care system is still a thousand times better than the pay for hire system practised in the United States. Least here the poor or dis advantaged do have a chance of surviving the health care system while in the USA they are basically goners, in my view.  That still doesn’t mean we have to or should accept sub standard care here. In fact it should be why we need to raise our standards even higher.

Nursing care is one of those professions that have lost its professionalism. We can thank the unions really for that, as their priority is getting the most buck they can at the cost of patient care. To staff a ward with 1 Registered Nurses per 4 patients is a waste of resources, but it sure helps to prove a nursing shortage.

Fact is that we need to make nurses and doctors accountable.

I am tired of seeing tax dollars pissed away on phoney staffing when in fact we don’t need 1 RN’s per  4 patients. We need to have more orderlies doing their job, more practicle nurses than we need an RN. I spent over 100 days dealing with the hospital care and I watched my father give up because of it. That isnt to say we don’t need RN’s but we need to make all nursing reasonable and responsible, as well as make it responsive to the needs of the patients.

Frankly today we are sorely lacking in addressing the needs of the Patients and so I welcome an opportunity to address my government on this issue. I have had home nursing and I can tell you that as it stands now, and has for a few years, my mother refuses to go to a hospital again. She insists on having home care and would much rather pass away at home, than suffer the indignity of care by the so called Professional.

So NDP James, Nurses Union, get set, because I shall be heard and I thank Gordon Campbell for giving me and others an opportunity to set aside your greed, to place before those who control our health care the urgent need for overhaul. Not for dismantling as you fear, but for making you people accountable to those who pay your outrageous wages.

Perhaps that is truly why you object to this set of public hearings? 

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Filed under: Doing What's Right, General Chit Chat

Harper Doesn’t Get It

Author: Ian

Sep 28

I wonder at times, if Stephen Harper was born south of the 49th given how he simply doesn’t get it. I mean take his comments against former Prime Minister Paul Martin in discussing our role in Afghanistan.

“The fact that Mr. Martin is unable to do that, in this and so many other cases, illustrates why he is no longer prime minister of our country.” ( full story )

He is of course refering to Martin’s remarks that our role in Afghanistan shouldn’t be just about fighting and killing Taliban, but about aiding in rebuilding the ravaged nation. In helping to build schools, hospitals and such which frankly is EXACTLY what we should be doing, or at least be a Priority.

“You can’t win the military war if you can’t win the hearts and minds of the people,” Martin said. ( full story )

This is also what Jean Chretien pointed out on the war on Terror. And frankly, the more I hear about the on going battles in Afghanistan and Iraq, the more I believe that both Chretien and Martin are right and Bush and his puppet Harper are 100% wrong.

He said that he approved what military planners refer to as the “3-D” approach to the mission: diplomacy, defence and development. ( CBC article )

“But are we doing the amount of reconstruction, the amount of aid that I believe was part of the original mission? The answer unequivocally is that we’re not. And I believe that we should.” ( full story )

While Mr Harper is standing up for Bush Politics and Agenda he is forgetting that 32 Canadians are dead right now. If we want to see that those deaths are not in vain, we need to leave a legacy that will insure that Democracy and Freedom remain long after we are gone from the region. This is what Chretien and Martin understood, and unfortunately is something Stephen Harper and his Klansmen don’t grasp. It is what has led to the daily death tolls in Iraq and is just one of many reasons why Terrorism is on the rise in the Middle East.

It is only a matter of time before it breaks through the tenuous security we have in the West. The so called Muslim Hordes will once more crash thru and then what will Mr Harper say? Will he say it was the Military’s fault or will he just slink away with George Bush and go fishing in Maine?

It is amazing really at how those who claim a special relationship with GOD and HIS word, like Pope Intolerance, George Bush and our own Stephen Harper fail to even fathom what GOD’s message really is. They talk a good game about honoring HIS word and following HIS messages, but you know, when did GOD preach hatred? Racism? Bigotry? Seems to me that these so called religious types do nothing but point fingers at others, calling them unpatriotic or has beens or worse, when in fact they are the one’s causing the horror and yes, the bloodshed.

Their legacy is one of deceit, of hatred for those who are different. That isn’t spreading GOD’s word to anyone. That is being a bully and it because they fear the truth. They know deep down that if they did indeed believe, and I do mean BELIEVE, they would find all that they have done was wrong. They simply can’t accept the simple fact that being wrong is not a sin in itself. It is not acknowleding that mistake and attempting to correct it that makes it a sin.

Harper and Bush have a lot to answer for.

The issue isn’t that Paul Martin isn’t back tracking. He sent the troops in but as he pointed out, it was to accomplish more than just winning some fire fight. It was to establish Democracy and Freedom in a nation that was oppressed. Unfortunately Bush seems intend on doing to his own country as to what the Taliban did to Afghanistan with his Patriot Acts and Invasion of Iraq. Harper is merely the sheep, following his master, but geez, you’d think once in awhile he’d get it right.

Kicking down doors, firing off rockets, artillery are ways to win the battles. But to win the war you need to get the people behind you. You can’t do that if you ignore their needs, and if we want them to fully embrace the ideals of Freedom, we need to help them now, with schools where they can learn, with hospitals where they can heal, and with simple respect for those things they believe in. That is what Chretien pointed out and it is what Paul Martin is pointing out now. We need to do more about those areas if we want to bring our troops home and not send them back a year later or when ever the next 9/11 happens.

Happen it will too, given how we are failing in our stated mission. What we have now in Afghanistan is Harper following Bush’s lead. That isn’t going to win us battles, never mind wars.

It is this lack of foresight, lack of understanding that is what makes me NOT SUPPORT STEPHEN HARPER and his party of BUSH APOLOGETICS.

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Filed under: Federal Politics, General Chit Chat

Stretched to the Limit

Author: Ian

Sep 26

Its an odd thing to hear from the Chief of our Military forces, but then Canada is not some military powerhouse so perhaps it is understandable. However what gets me is that on the one hand we are fighting in Afghanistan while the rest of the world is burning. Least if you listen to some, or in this instance the Liberal Senator Stollery.

Stollery said he believed the limited presence of Canadian troops in the continent was a result of military officials believing it was not as “sexy” as helping the U.S. by fighting in Afghanistan. ( full story )

Point is interesting as I do wonder about this. How does our Government determine where to send its limited number of available troops? I mean sure we have a NATO committment, but Canada is known for its Peace Keepers, least until Harper gets his way and ruins that. However, for now it is what we are known for, so how do we determine which hot spot is the hottest?

Canada had limited involvement in UNIFIL and from what I have seen, hasn’t upped our participation in this latest round. Yet if we are somewhere, and in limited ways, and the region explodes or requires additional support, why shouldn’t we do it? I mean Harper just upped our forces in Afghanistan, so why are we ignoring the African conflicts?

Perhaps Stollery has the right take on this. I mean it isn’t in the news as much and I wonder why is that? Could it be that it is about non white’s? Are we wearing color blinders?

Frankly I have had the sneaky suspicion that the Western World has indeed used blinders and have deliberately ignored the major non white hot spots for racial motives. I honestly do buy into the concept that many, if not all, are making determinations based on race and religion, rather than perhaps need. And that frightens me a bit more today than say yesterday.

I mean you hear about the death toll in Iraq on the news, and yes it is mostly about how many SOLDIERS have been killed and wounded. Yet only lately have you been hearing about the death toll of Iraqi citizens. And frankly, that is worse. Still does anyone hear any daily news about how many were killed in secular violence in Somalia or the Congo or Uganda? Or any of the other festering wars out there? And why aren’t we?

Could it also be a reason we see nations like Iran reaching out for Nucleur weapons? Could it be that the next World Confrontation will not be about food, about living space or even ideological differences, but will really be about Race and Religion?

Listen closely to those who are speaking these days. Listen to Bush and the way he is attempting to paint Islam and Muslims these days. Look at how many who are Allies are hitting back, playing the Israel card if they are Muslim, and then suddenly the Pope starts a major row with Islam and most Muslims in a supposed misunderstanding?

Given how managed both Bush and people like the Pope are, it makes you wonder just how these gaffs happen. Rice and her open mike in Russia, then Blair and Bush on the plane home. I don’t know, but it seems like a grand chess master setting the board for a game. In all honesty, is war that far off where the sides aren’t about ideals, or good vs evil, but instead will be about whose side God is on? 

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Filed under: General Chit Chat, Random Thoughts
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