Stephen Harper's idea of secure borders and national security measures is to relinquish responsibility. He proposes that we “sacrifice a certain amount of sovereignty for the sake of trade and security and open borders” - NAFTA.
His plan of betrayal is called Fortress North America and will mean American military and security personnel will be deployed on our soil, on and under our waters and in our air space to 'protect' us and to protect American “national security interests.” What a comedy of errors from the First Clown of Canadian governance – Stephen “Harpo the Clown” Harper.
This is further evidence that Mr. Harper has no idea whatsoever about how to implement National Security measures that are Canadian and effective. We need to raise up and pay our own security forces by enlarging the size of our Armed Forces, our Border Security Forces, our Internal Security Forces and our Intelligence Forces.
Once trained and hired we can deploy them and other security forces to guard our borders, protect our people and resources and interests; and secure our democratic values, institutions and processes which guarantee our Liberties. We have the best Armed Forces personnel in the world. Why should we seek help from lesser soldiers with more violent values?
If once we invite American security forces to do our internal security jobs we will soon be wishing we still had authority to make independent decisions about our resources, our politics, our culture, our business ethos, and our society with its peaceful emphasis.
Look at Lebanon and Iraq and many other countries where Americans have come to help. They have been reduced to ruin and chaos by the best intentions in the world. Canada is too important a resource to put it at risk of careless destruction.
Because Stephen Harper does not know what to do he is convinced that no one else could possibly know how to do it: to do the Prime Minister's job right in accordance with current Administrative methods as taught in all great universities and in keeping with our Canadian Parliamentary traditions. He prefers shallow ideology to science and trustworthy and proven methodology and he has attacked our Liberties and Parliamentary system with great zeal.
Doing this Administration work and National Security planning requires a lifetime of diligent preparation and study of Administration and Governance, history and ideas and humanity and legislative methodology. Stephen Harper has not done that work!
Why doesn't the Prime Minister know? Lack of diligence and skills sets! He also has no Canadian military intelligence and it shows in his thuggish, undisciplined and disrespectful behaviour. So he passes responsibility to foreign powers instead of seeking Canadian solutions.
Mr. Harper seeks the easy way through this security blip on our large Canadian radar screen. He seeks a plan that agrees with and furthers his agenda to sell Canada to the lowest corporate bidder or give it away to his American backers. He has no plan whatsoever for the threats to Canada that are developing in the current Crisis.
Canada is MORE than GNP. We are a remarkable and valuable asset in a world of chaos and violence. I will stand up for and fight for our Canada and not his pale imitation.
Our people are exceptional in every way and this includes our Security Forces of all kinds and levels. We simply need leadership that knows how to implement and deploy them for our own national interests.
Mr. Harper wants to sell Canada for a bowl of stew - “ a bowl of pottage”. He seeks to steal and sell our collective heritage and I mean to stop him and deliver real Hope, first to Canadians, and then to all nations and people in the global community. I will need your help to do it.
Read the brief essay set Building The Canadian Dream and then help us to make that Dream real for all Canadians and for our families around the world. This is an easy and inexpensive plan. It is a dignified and independent action that will help to make the Canadian Dream real for generations to come.
This Plan utilizes that important core Principle of political leadership and economic philosophy of the 21st Century - Success with Less - more success with less investment. Am I the only one who sees how to do this? No more fake lakes! I want to see real lakes cleaned up instead.
We need a real home grown Canadian National Security Strategy that involves investing in Canadians to train them and give them real meaningful employment in our security net. We need to train and hire sufficient security and intelligence forces within our borders to protect ourselves and our neighbours who are stressed and stretched to the breaking point already. This will help to build and drive the new economic model of “Sustainability in all things.”
Presently we are in jeopardy from enemies and friends alike - and even from our Prime Minister and his government. This can be quickly and easily changed. The Plan I have in mind will result in strengthening our independent sovereignty and that of our neighbours, friends and allies. Any National Security Plan must include an Environmental Protection and Recovery component and our Plan covers that too.
Canada must provide an example and leadership and not simply bow and capitulate to other external forces, American or otherwise.
Canada First!
Peace Pays!
“Don't keep the peace...pass it on.”
...
..
.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Canada - True North Strong and Free
Canada is an amazing country. We enjoy a level of peace, stability, and public security here that is rare in the world and in history. We are at the very heart and axis of The Universal Culture.
The World is no longer easily compartmentalized into isolated segments. People of all places and cultures now have immediate access to one another through amazing transportation and communication systems and we are exposed to all cultures.
These cultures are being melded into one all-encompassing new culture, which I call The Universal Culture. I have had more exposure to the many existent perspectives than some people and now I see a new phenomenon.
In Canada we have more ready access to data from people in all places and of all backgrounds than anyone ever has anywhere at any time up to the present. We have been accepting and tolerant and welcoming as we have woven The Cultural Mosaic.
These are qualities that are much-needed in a world fraught with intolerance and consequent violence in every nook and cranny of life. Here we have also enjoyed levels of freedom and democratic participation that are rare and beautiful. We have an abundance of food, water, and natural resources.
We have a strong economy and until recently we have had governments that sought diligently to serve the populace and the world. They were fair, kind, humane and efficient and embraced our functional democratic systems, values and institutions. They enabled us to care about and for the weak and the vulnerable in our midst.
We have been a Just and Compassionate Society. But all of that is now in jeopardy. Our current government seems to reject democracy or they sorely misunderstand what democracy is - Government of the people, for the People and by the People.
It is our responsibility as The People to remind them and call them to account...and then to govern ourselves in the manner we desire - with Justice and Compassion.
...
..
.
The World is no longer easily compartmentalized into isolated segments. People of all places and cultures now have immediate access to one another through amazing transportation and communication systems and we are exposed to all cultures.
These cultures are being melded into one all-encompassing new culture, which I call The Universal Culture. I have had more exposure to the many existent perspectives than some people and now I see a new phenomenon.
In Canada we have more ready access to data from people in all places and of all backgrounds than anyone ever has anywhere at any time up to the present. We have been accepting and tolerant and welcoming as we have woven The Cultural Mosaic.
These are qualities that are much-needed in a world fraught with intolerance and consequent violence in every nook and cranny of life. Here we have also enjoyed levels of freedom and democratic participation that are rare and beautiful. We have an abundance of food, water, and natural resources.
We have a strong economy and until recently we have had governments that sought diligently to serve the populace and the world. They were fair, kind, humane and efficient and embraced our functional democratic systems, values and institutions. They enabled us to care about and for the weak and the vulnerable in our midst.
We have been a Just and Compassionate Society. But all of that is now in jeopardy. Our current government seems to reject democracy or they sorely misunderstand what democracy is - Government of the people, for the People and by the People.
It is our responsibility as The People to remind them and call them to account...and then to govern ourselves in the manner we desire - with Justice and Compassion.
...
..
.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Diligence
Diligence is the persistent, industrious effort to carry a task or enterprise to a successful conclusion. To stay focused, attention fixed upon completing the job, always pressing pressing pressing against all obstacles and opinion, until all is finished: here is a component of Success.
Organized productivity with built up and sustained momentum fixed upon an object, a goal, a desire or achievement is more likely to end with successful results than will sporadic, chaotic, indifferent efforts. Life's like that.
In earlier ages, even in my childhood [lol], Diligence was regarded as a virtue. It was a desirable character and personality trait. Sadly, this virtuous trait has come to be regarded with the same suspicion that has called all classical and/or traditional values into question.
It was another case of “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” Those who have managed to retain or implement this and other virtues have risen above the crowd in this age as in every previous age.
Diligence will be required if we hope to survive and succeed as a nation and as a species.
...
..
.
Organized productivity with built up and sustained momentum fixed upon an object, a goal, a desire or achievement is more likely to end with successful results than will sporadic, chaotic, indifferent efforts. Life's like that.
In earlier ages, even in my childhood [lol], Diligence was regarded as a virtue. It was a desirable character and personality trait. Sadly, this virtuous trait has come to be regarded with the same suspicion that has called all classical and/or traditional values into question.
It was another case of “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” Those who have managed to retain or implement this and other virtues have risen above the crowd in this age as in every previous age.
Diligence will be required if we hope to survive and succeed as a nation and as a species.
...
..
.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
With Heads Firmly In Place: Universal Dental Care
Universal Dental Care In The Province Of Ontario
How do we separate dental health from general health? How can we conceptually deny the intimate connection between a healthy mouth and a healthy body, mind and spirit?
Dental problems are painful, embarrassing, distracting and debilitating. Much productivity is lost in our society due to dental problems.
And dental problems are clearly associated with a wide variety of other health concerns from stomach cancer to kidney and bladder disorders to prostate gland inflammation, all of which place further pressure on our medical delivery systems.
Few common human experiences are more painful and distressing than a toothache. It’s the kind of pain that steals sleep and peace and concentration.
The infection in an abscessed tooth flows freely through the entire bloodstream and cannot be dissociated from the body at a practical level. Even existing definitions of insurable medical conditions have not managed to remove everyone’s heads...yet.
The Canadian Dental Association (dentists) are all in agreement that early and persistent care according to agreed upon maintenance practices are the best policy in caring for people’s teeth (and therefore people).
Their ads on television and all of their individual and collective communications with the Canadian Public say the same thing with perfect consistency. Yet they seem largely agreed that this policy should not be public policy.
So much more could be done for the dental health and overall well-being of people with so much less if this were public policy. Rather these ads become a humiliating message to all who lack complete access to proper care as prescribed by dentists in general. "You cannot get your teeth fixed so too bad for you!"
Dentists should take note that other forms of health care delivery have prospered their colleagues in the medical professions. The merely financial benefits for practitioners from these integrated systems have reached far beyond anything imagined at the moment of conception, or even at its birth. And it has helped all Canadians as well.
Let me clarify that I am not merely suggesting universal dental treatment. I mean dental care. By providing dental care and preventative treatment through government based programs we could reap great benefits as a Province [Ontario], as a Nation [Canada], as a People [Canadians].
For instance, a report about Emergency room traffic in Ontario hospitals revealed that over fifty percent of ER visits were not emergencies and a large proportion of these visits were related to dental problems.
Helping people care for their teeth would also relieve some of the undue pressures placed on hospital staff by sheer volume of clients at Emergency Rooms and other facilities. It would also relieve pressure on the public medical care delivery system, on the Province, and the on Federal Budget.
Healthier people are simply happier, more co-operative, and more productive members of society. Many of our citizens (often the poor or very poor) do not know how to care for their mouths and teeth.
Consequently they’re embarrassed both by the appearance of their teeth and by the suffering that accompanies dental infections and other oral problems. And these people cannot afford to pay someone to help them care for their teeth.
But we have the technologies, the administrative methods, the technologists, the dentists: the system components with which we could eliminate this sad pressure on people and on society. We even have the funding.
All we lack is the Will and a Vision of a Nation where people’s heads are attached to their bodies in the world of political and bureaucratic decision-making.
We need Universal Dental Care in The Province of Ontario. This would help the poor, the artists, our institutions, our finances, our work force, everyone!
Then dental practitioners could see a more even and widespread benefit to their society. They would also find even more reason for pride in their individual and collective work.
Life is a team sport and the collective skill, intelligence and creativity of our dentists could help transform Canada into that place about which we Dream.
Tommy Douglas was recently voted Canada’s “Greatest” citizen by an enthusiastic Public using media technology [TV + Internet + telephones + computers].
This former Premier of Saskatchewan won the hearts and devotion and gratitude of all Canadians through the introduction of “medicare”; government sponsored and supervised medical treatment for all citizens with no user fee.
Apparently the concept has become a hit. In spite of initial hostility and opposition it was soon adopted in all Provinces and became a Federal Government Policy.
This was an act of general compassion towards the Canadian People on the part of Mr. Douglas and his colleagues, the Members of The Saskatchewan Legislature.
Canadians still desire compassion and we like to express it in our societal systems. Let’s embrace compassion and heal the sore mouths, heads, and other suffering parts of Canadians, which result from dental problems.
Let us affirm once again that our mouths are in our heads and that our heads remain firmly in place, attached to our bodies. Our teeth need funding just as our waterfowl do and just as our culture does, and just as our international reputation does.
Canadians are in need of publicly founded, funded and managed Dental Education and Care just as we do for our bodies, minds, eyes, ears, feet, and all other areas of human medical specialization.
Dentists want to help people and such a system will enable a more balanced sharing of resources that will very quickly make us all richer, more productive, healthier and happier. It will make us an even greater nation. Dentists will earn more and the overall costs will be reduced for Canada and Canadians.
Our public medical care system is something that distinguishes us as a nation internationally. It’s an expression of the Justice and Compassion that characterize the Canadian identity. It's a Canadian success story.
Today there is much earnest debate about the future of medicare and many models are being proposed and implemented in response to perceived conditions and circumstances.
Some might prefer to eliminate medicare entirely and let Canadians return to a former and more primitive method of caring for themselves, their families, their neighbours and everyone across this great land.
The Medicare system has served Canadians well as individuals and as a nation. It employs a workforce of competent and well-trained medical practitioners.
Yet costs are skyrocketing and personnel are in short supply. So far no one has successfully suggested that we employ reliable preventative health systems. I know these exist and are available. We could implement these for dental care.
Doctors have also prospered far beyond what most of them would have managed without government medical delivery systems. Everyone wins in these public agreements; at least everyone should win.
When Mr. Douglas introduced the Bill for Universal Medicare in The Saskatchewan Legislature, his plan and dream was not to stop with this step and measure. He pointed out that hospital insurance had been the first step and had been received warmly and economically by the society.
Medicare, he added, was the second step. “Optometrics”, treatment for eyes and access to eye-wear funding, was third. [This is something that has been of great importance to me as a former blind person who received restorative eye surgery which was paid for by the Canadian people via OHIP. Thank you.]
And the jewel in Premier Douglas’ medical crown of coverage was intended to be dental care. After all, nothing gives that final luster to a person like a bright, shiny, healthy smile.
I believe it could be easily demonstrated that we could deliver better and universally accessible dental care to the citizens of Canada with less cost. Rather than tearing away that single thing which Canadians have proven is closest to their collective community heart in choosing Tommy Douglas as The Greatest Canadian, we should complete his Dream.
While others call for a compromise of the health care system, I call for the logical expansion to follow the first three steps already accomplished in this persistent Canadian Dream.
We should institute Universal Dental Care in The Province of Ontario, and then in all provinces, territories and regions of Canada. Dental problems are a plague on our citizens and economy and we could change that easily, inexpensively, and quickly.
These previous Medicare measures have stabilized and civilized Canada and have made this the best place in the world to live.
Be brave. Move forward and grasp The Dream. I call upon Premier McGuinty and all provincial and territorial leaders to embrace this dream and help all Canadians.
Legislate equality in dental care for Ontarions and Canadians!
Peace.
RJW
“Don’t keep the peace…pass it on.”
“Life is a team sport.”
...
..
.
How do we separate dental health from general health? How can we conceptually deny the intimate connection between a healthy mouth and a healthy body, mind and spirit?
Dental problems are painful, embarrassing, distracting and debilitating. Much productivity is lost in our society due to dental problems.
And dental problems are clearly associated with a wide variety of other health concerns from stomach cancer to kidney and bladder disorders to prostate gland inflammation, all of which place further pressure on our medical delivery systems.
Few common human experiences are more painful and distressing than a toothache. It’s the kind of pain that steals sleep and peace and concentration.
The infection in an abscessed tooth flows freely through the entire bloodstream and cannot be dissociated from the body at a practical level. Even existing definitions of insurable medical conditions have not managed to remove everyone’s heads...yet.
The Canadian Dental Association (dentists) are all in agreement that early and persistent care according to agreed upon maintenance practices are the best policy in caring for people’s teeth (and therefore people).
Their ads on television and all of their individual and collective communications with the Canadian Public say the same thing with perfect consistency. Yet they seem largely agreed that this policy should not be public policy.
So much more could be done for the dental health and overall well-being of people with so much less if this were public policy. Rather these ads become a humiliating message to all who lack complete access to proper care as prescribed by dentists in general. "You cannot get your teeth fixed so too bad for you!"
Dentists should take note that other forms of health care delivery have prospered their colleagues in the medical professions. The merely financial benefits for practitioners from these integrated systems have reached far beyond anything imagined at the moment of conception, or even at its birth. And it has helped all Canadians as well.
Let me clarify that I am not merely suggesting universal dental treatment. I mean dental care. By providing dental care and preventative treatment through government based programs we could reap great benefits as a Province [Ontario], as a Nation [Canada], as a People [Canadians].
For instance, a report about Emergency room traffic in Ontario hospitals revealed that over fifty percent of ER visits were not emergencies and a large proportion of these visits were related to dental problems.
Helping people care for their teeth would also relieve some of the undue pressures placed on hospital staff by sheer volume of clients at Emergency Rooms and other facilities. It would also relieve pressure on the public medical care delivery system, on the Province, and the on Federal Budget.
Healthier people are simply happier, more co-operative, and more productive members of society. Many of our citizens (often the poor or very poor) do not know how to care for their mouths and teeth.
Consequently they’re embarrassed both by the appearance of their teeth and by the suffering that accompanies dental infections and other oral problems. And these people cannot afford to pay someone to help them care for their teeth.
But we have the technologies, the administrative methods, the technologists, the dentists: the system components with which we could eliminate this sad pressure on people and on society. We even have the funding.
All we lack is the Will and a Vision of a Nation where people’s heads are attached to their bodies in the world of political and bureaucratic decision-making.
We need Universal Dental Care in The Province of Ontario. This would help the poor, the artists, our institutions, our finances, our work force, everyone!
Then dental practitioners could see a more even and widespread benefit to their society. They would also find even more reason for pride in their individual and collective work.
Life is a team sport and the collective skill, intelligence and creativity of our dentists could help transform Canada into that place about which we Dream.
Tommy Douglas was recently voted Canada’s “Greatest” citizen by an enthusiastic Public using media technology [TV + Internet + telephones + computers].
This former Premier of Saskatchewan won the hearts and devotion and gratitude of all Canadians through the introduction of “medicare”; government sponsored and supervised medical treatment for all citizens with no user fee.
Apparently the concept has become a hit. In spite of initial hostility and opposition it was soon adopted in all Provinces and became a Federal Government Policy.
This was an act of general compassion towards the Canadian People on the part of Mr. Douglas and his colleagues, the Members of The Saskatchewan Legislature.
Canadians still desire compassion and we like to express it in our societal systems. Let’s embrace compassion and heal the sore mouths, heads, and other suffering parts of Canadians, which result from dental problems.
Let us affirm once again that our mouths are in our heads and that our heads remain firmly in place, attached to our bodies. Our teeth need funding just as our waterfowl do and just as our culture does, and just as our international reputation does.
Canadians are in need of publicly founded, funded and managed Dental Education and Care just as we do for our bodies, minds, eyes, ears, feet, and all other areas of human medical specialization.
Dentists want to help people and such a system will enable a more balanced sharing of resources that will very quickly make us all richer, more productive, healthier and happier. It will make us an even greater nation. Dentists will earn more and the overall costs will be reduced for Canada and Canadians.
Our public medical care system is something that distinguishes us as a nation internationally. It’s an expression of the Justice and Compassion that characterize the Canadian identity. It's a Canadian success story.
Today there is much earnest debate about the future of medicare and many models are being proposed and implemented in response to perceived conditions and circumstances.
Some might prefer to eliminate medicare entirely and let Canadians return to a former and more primitive method of caring for themselves, their families, their neighbours and everyone across this great land.
The Medicare system has served Canadians well as individuals and as a nation. It employs a workforce of competent and well-trained medical practitioners.
Yet costs are skyrocketing and personnel are in short supply. So far no one has successfully suggested that we employ reliable preventative health systems. I know these exist and are available. We could implement these for dental care.
Doctors have also prospered far beyond what most of them would have managed without government medical delivery systems. Everyone wins in these public agreements; at least everyone should win.
When Mr. Douglas introduced the Bill for Universal Medicare in The Saskatchewan Legislature, his plan and dream was not to stop with this step and measure. He pointed out that hospital insurance had been the first step and had been received warmly and economically by the society.
Medicare, he added, was the second step. “Optometrics”, treatment for eyes and access to eye-wear funding, was third. [This is something that has been of great importance to me as a former blind person who received restorative eye surgery which was paid for by the Canadian people via OHIP. Thank you.]
And the jewel in Premier Douglas’ medical crown of coverage was intended to be dental care. After all, nothing gives that final luster to a person like a bright, shiny, healthy smile.
I believe it could be easily demonstrated that we could deliver better and universally accessible dental care to the citizens of Canada with less cost. Rather than tearing away that single thing which Canadians have proven is closest to their collective community heart in choosing Tommy Douglas as The Greatest Canadian, we should complete his Dream.
While others call for a compromise of the health care system, I call for the logical expansion to follow the first three steps already accomplished in this persistent Canadian Dream.
We should institute Universal Dental Care in The Province of Ontario, and then in all provinces, territories and regions of Canada. Dental problems are a plague on our citizens and economy and we could change that easily, inexpensively, and quickly.
These previous Medicare measures have stabilized and civilized Canada and have made this the best place in the world to live.
Be brave. Move forward and grasp The Dream. I call upon Premier McGuinty and all provincial and territorial leaders to embrace this dream and help all Canadians.
Legislate equality in dental care for Ontarions and Canadians!
Peace.
RJW
“Don’t keep the peace…pass it on.”
“Life is a team sport.”
...
..
.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Shaking the Foundations of History - The Great Adventure
Civilizations have a set of components that characterize each one as distinct. Each civilization is made up of societies, genetic pools, cultures, organizations, literature, governance methods, technologies, languages, philosophies and religions, arts and so on.
Each civilization goes through a cycle in which they begin, exist for a period and become dominant. Then they recede and eventually disappear into the dusts of history.
Underneath it all there are the foundations of history which are largely permanent. These are the backdrop and the dynamics of the movement of events which together we call history. [I prefer the term Accounts of Human Activity or AHA, for we must distinguish natural and geological history, which influence us, as distinct from human activity.] Occasionally these foundations need to be shaken, renewed and restored.
There have been Momentous crossroads throughout the history of western civilization in which conditions had become untenable and impossible to sustain. This set of conditions forces people to action and reminds us that “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
One example of this phenomenon is found in the Fourth Century when the Roman Empire finally collapsed and left a huge vacuum which no one seemed able to fill. Chaos and despair became widespread. The “Peace of Rome” or Pax Romana vanished and chaos descended upon Europe and threatened everything and everyone. People believed that the end of the world had come. [Many believe the same today.]
Then a book entitled The City of God was published by “Saint” Augustine. He was an intellectual priest and philosophy teacher who had been touched by God. This provided a new Vision for humanity in Europe for a thousand years...well actually 1100 years. For that is when the next BIG crisis of history hit Europe...at the end of The Dark Ages. The solution came in the person of another Christian leader and theologian named Martin Luther.
Like Augustine Luther received his education in the church as it existed at that time...and then he tore down that church and recreated it in keeping with the times, the challenges, the conditions...and the Truth. He transformed church, state, culture, literature, nations, governance practices, understanding of human liberty and dignity and much more. He even gave us the Christmas tree and wrote carols on his guitar. He used all media forms and outlets to communicate his message of hope.
Luther's action is now known as The Reformation and this ushered in what history calls The Enlightenment - the age of science and provable truth. Everything changed down to the foundations. The foundations of history had become loose and lax and weak and useless and needed to be restored with new ideas and new lifestyles and even technologies like the movable print printing press which Luther used to spread his message of renewal.
Big changes were introduced out of sheer necessity but that 'necessity' did not compare with what we face. There has NEVER been anything vaguely akin to what we face in terms of complexity and magnitude. Fortunately we have the examples of those who have gone before to guide us in our striving for survival and success as a nation, as a people, as a species, as a civilization...and as individuals.
Now we are in the midst of a set of challenging conditions that is unprecedented in history. Humanity has never faced such a complex and potentially threatening situation at any time in recorded history.
The widespread militarism that grows and destroys, coupled with an all-encompassing environmental Crisis that is global in magnitude add up to a VERY big threat to our children, our way of life, our planet itself and humanity at large. No one can escape the danger at this point. We must change or perish. We need “a way through the fire.”
So we need viable solutions that recognize the reality in which we live and which reach out to shake the very foundations of history while helping us to navigate safely through the dangers. We must change and we must do it efficiently for time is at a premium now. We are literally at the “Do or die!” stage.
How shall we respond to this threat to our families, communities, nations, values and so forth? Will we capitulate and kow ourselves and let the Crisis wash over us like helpless lambs in a tsunami? Or will we stand and fight for our lives, our children and the world we love...the beautiful blue planet.
What applied to Britain on June 4, 1944 applies to the Whole Earth today, for we now realize that we are an island in a hostile universe...floating in an ocean of dark matter and rapidly destroying our life-giving environment and each other.
The Threat is real and the danger is near. Winston Churchill's words still apply -
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."
If we hope to succeed we will have to work together - for the mess is too big for any one person. I am presently engaged in a plan of action that seeks to change far more than our national economy. We MUST change our civilization or we will not survive.
We are standing at a crossroads of history and upon a high rampart where the future of democracy and liberty are at stake and the threatening voice of tyranny shouts for victory with a crooked grin. Shall we believe the loud shouts of a cowardly liar or should we refuse to surrender?
We are in possession of a great opportunity and I propose that we embark upon a Great Adventure...a Great Undertaking to save ourselves and the Earth. If we succeed they will talk of our efforts and time for a thousand years.
If we fail there can be no guarantees of anything. But we have a duty to our nation, people and families to try. What a Grand Opportunity has been given to us, unlike any in any age past! This is the exhilaration of real life on Planet Earth. It can leave you breathless and carry you over the rainbow!
Certainly Canada cannot repel and survive a military assault from a powerful nation, nor can we invade other territories and take things by force. We need a diplomatic, scientific and rational solution and that is what I am proposing – Sustainability in all things.
I urge all people to consider a new economic model that rejects violence, slavery and war as a basis for economic gain - The Peace-based Economy. These cannot be sustained for long at this point. Survival will require peace on a grand scale.
This is the direction of Hope. If we can alter our thinking and behaviour and values enough to cease from destroying the planet and each other, then together we can easily build a hopeful Canadian future in the 21st Century.
I ask for your help in behalf of the children who suffer most from the threat and the fears associated with it. The future is quite literally in our hands. Let us treat it with care, respect, gratitude and generosity.
It helps to keep perspective on history and remember what happened in the past. As the 20th Century philosopher George Santayana famously said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.”
...
Each civilization goes through a cycle in which they begin, exist for a period and become dominant. Then they recede and eventually disappear into the dusts of history.
Underneath it all there are the foundations of history which are largely permanent. These are the backdrop and the dynamics of the movement of events which together we call history. [I prefer the term Accounts of Human Activity or AHA, for we must distinguish natural and geological history, which influence us, as distinct from human activity.] Occasionally these foundations need to be shaken, renewed and restored.
There have been Momentous crossroads throughout the history of western civilization in which conditions had become untenable and impossible to sustain. This set of conditions forces people to action and reminds us that “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
One example of this phenomenon is found in the Fourth Century when the Roman Empire finally collapsed and left a huge vacuum which no one seemed able to fill. Chaos and despair became widespread. The “Peace of Rome” or Pax Romana vanished and chaos descended upon Europe and threatened everything and everyone. People believed that the end of the world had come. [Many believe the same today.]
Then a book entitled The City of God was published by “Saint” Augustine. He was an intellectual priest and philosophy teacher who had been touched by God. This provided a new Vision for humanity in Europe for a thousand years...well actually 1100 years. For that is when the next BIG crisis of history hit Europe...at the end of The Dark Ages. The solution came in the person of another Christian leader and theologian named Martin Luther.
Like Augustine Luther received his education in the church as it existed at that time...and then he tore down that church and recreated it in keeping with the times, the challenges, the conditions...and the Truth. He transformed church, state, culture, literature, nations, governance practices, understanding of human liberty and dignity and much more. He even gave us the Christmas tree and wrote carols on his guitar. He used all media forms and outlets to communicate his message of hope.
Luther's action is now known as The Reformation and this ushered in what history calls The Enlightenment - the age of science and provable truth. Everything changed down to the foundations. The foundations of history had become loose and lax and weak and useless and needed to be restored with new ideas and new lifestyles and even technologies like the movable print printing press which Luther used to spread his message of renewal.
Big changes were introduced out of sheer necessity but that 'necessity' did not compare with what we face. There has NEVER been anything vaguely akin to what we face in terms of complexity and magnitude. Fortunately we have the examples of those who have gone before to guide us in our striving for survival and success as a nation, as a people, as a species, as a civilization...and as individuals.
Now we are in the midst of a set of challenging conditions that is unprecedented in history. Humanity has never faced such a complex and potentially threatening situation at any time in recorded history.
The widespread militarism that grows and destroys, coupled with an all-encompassing environmental Crisis that is global in magnitude add up to a VERY big threat to our children, our way of life, our planet itself and humanity at large. No one can escape the danger at this point. We must change or perish. We need “a way through the fire.”
So we need viable solutions that recognize the reality in which we live and which reach out to shake the very foundations of history while helping us to navigate safely through the dangers. We must change and we must do it efficiently for time is at a premium now. We are literally at the “Do or die!” stage.
How shall we respond to this threat to our families, communities, nations, values and so forth? Will we capitulate and kow ourselves and let the Crisis wash over us like helpless lambs in a tsunami? Or will we stand and fight for our lives, our children and the world we love...the beautiful blue planet.
What applied to Britain on June 4, 1944 applies to the Whole Earth today, for we now realize that we are an island in a hostile universe...floating in an ocean of dark matter and rapidly destroying our life-giving environment and each other.
The Threat is real and the danger is near. Winston Churchill's words still apply -
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."
If we hope to succeed we will have to work together - for the mess is too big for any one person. I am presently engaged in a plan of action that seeks to change far more than our national economy. We MUST change our civilization or we will not survive.
We are standing at a crossroads of history and upon a high rampart where the future of democracy and liberty are at stake and the threatening voice of tyranny shouts for victory with a crooked grin. Shall we believe the loud shouts of a cowardly liar or should we refuse to surrender?
We are in possession of a great opportunity and I propose that we embark upon a Great Adventure...a Great Undertaking to save ourselves and the Earth. If we succeed they will talk of our efforts and time for a thousand years.
If we fail there can be no guarantees of anything. But we have a duty to our nation, people and families to try. What a Grand Opportunity has been given to us, unlike any in any age past! This is the exhilaration of real life on Planet Earth. It can leave you breathless and carry you over the rainbow!
Certainly Canada cannot repel and survive a military assault from a powerful nation, nor can we invade other territories and take things by force. We need a diplomatic, scientific and rational solution and that is what I am proposing – Sustainability in all things.
I urge all people to consider a new economic model that rejects violence, slavery and war as a basis for economic gain - The Peace-based Economy. These cannot be sustained for long at this point. Survival will require peace on a grand scale.
This is the direction of Hope. If we can alter our thinking and behaviour and values enough to cease from destroying the planet and each other, then together we can easily build a hopeful Canadian future in the 21st Century.
I ask for your help in behalf of the children who suffer most from the threat and the fears associated with it. The future is quite literally in our hands. Let us treat it with care, respect, gratitude and generosity.
It helps to keep perspective on history and remember what happened in the past. As the 20th Century philosopher George Santayana famously said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.”
...
Saturday, October 16, 2010
The Crisis
I see everything political in the light [or perhaps in the shadow] of The Crisis. For I am completely persuaded that humanity is facing a Crisis of historic proportions and that there is no guarantee that we, our civilizations, societies and our human world will survive intact.
Some might consider me to be an alarmist. I consider them to be sadly blinded by circumstances and distractions. There is no doubt that we are headed towards what could be a cataclysmic encounter with our bad habits and inadequate values. We have created a Crisis that is increasingly complex and menacing. It is made up of militarism, environmental carelessness and greed.
What deepens my sadness about this threatening situation is that our political leaders are not discussing nor addressing it in any sensible and clear manner. They seem to believe that if they ignore it then The Crisis will simply go away on its own like a lumbering black bear in search of a meal. They are mistaken. Or perhaps they really don't see the true nature of The Problem.
I suspect that many ignore The Problem because they see no way to deal with it, survive it, get through it into a hopeful future. What are they to tell their children and grand-children? It's frightening and frustrating for people.
These young people are startled with fear from the daily reports they hear from all authorities that they are doomed and there can be no safe, sensible and survivable future for them and their children.
How cruel and insensitive a way to treat the vulnerable young! They need to see that we have a real Plan in place that they estimate can successfully confront and defeat their fears.
I see things in a different way from most. I do see a way through this complex Crisis and I see a way to survive and gain some ground against this menacing set of enemies. This “way” is what I call The Canadian Dream.
According to my research and analysis we can Build this Dream with the resources, human and otherwise, that we possess. In so doing we will take a leadership role in a world in need of hope and leadership.
It will require diligence, imagination and political will to do it...to survive and succeed. This will require sustained intentionality and sustained exertion by a large segment of the population. That will require real leadership in the office of the Prime Minister and this Prime Minister cannot deliver it.
Some believe that politics requires them “to lay down and take it.” My Plan requires you to stand up and give your very best.
Peace Pays!
“Don't keep the peace...pass it on.”
...
Some might consider me to be an alarmist. I consider them to be sadly blinded by circumstances and distractions. There is no doubt that we are headed towards what could be a cataclysmic encounter with our bad habits and inadequate values. We have created a Crisis that is increasingly complex and menacing. It is made up of militarism, environmental carelessness and greed.
What deepens my sadness about this threatening situation is that our political leaders are not discussing nor addressing it in any sensible and clear manner. They seem to believe that if they ignore it then The Crisis will simply go away on its own like a lumbering black bear in search of a meal. They are mistaken. Or perhaps they really don't see the true nature of The Problem.
I suspect that many ignore The Problem because they see no way to deal with it, survive it, get through it into a hopeful future. What are they to tell their children and grand-children? It's frightening and frustrating for people.
These young people are startled with fear from the daily reports they hear from all authorities that they are doomed and there can be no safe, sensible and survivable future for them and their children.
How cruel and insensitive a way to treat the vulnerable young! They need to see that we have a real Plan in place that they estimate can successfully confront and defeat their fears.
I see things in a different way from most. I do see a way through this complex Crisis and I see a way to survive and gain some ground against this menacing set of enemies. This “way” is what I call The Canadian Dream.
According to my research and analysis we can Build this Dream with the resources, human and otherwise, that we possess. In so doing we will take a leadership role in a world in need of hope and leadership.
It will require diligence, imagination and political will to do it...to survive and succeed. This will require sustained intentionality and sustained exertion by a large segment of the population. That will require real leadership in the office of the Prime Minister and this Prime Minister cannot deliver it.
Some believe that politics requires them “to lay down and take it.” My Plan requires you to stand up and give your very best.
Peace Pays!
“Don't keep the peace...pass it on.”
...
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Knowledge is Power – Government Makes Information Age Attack on Canadians
We all know that “Knowledge is power.” So it is an easy step to observe that in canceling the long form census process in Canada the so-called “Conservative” Government and Stephen Harper are stripping Canadians of the democratic power that drives this nation forward at a pace unprecedented in human history.
The Prime Minister wants us to believe that the census and the information derived from it are insignificant. In reality he simply wants to hobble the news agencies and the government agencies, all NGOs, businesses large and small, religious organizations and any useful program in this country, whether governmental, personal or public.
******************
The Prime Minister opposes the long form census on principle. This is like opposing the use of language on the basis of principle - or rather ideology. For a census is a tool for communication and analysis.
This all reminds me of what or rather who is in the news today – September 30, 2010. It's the self-named and self-proclaimed “Great Leader” of North Korea who claims to understand democracy and free market capitalism – both of which he opposes. In fact he seems to understand it about as well as Stephen Harper seems to understand democracy and human rights. Neither one does.
It also reminds me of another former Canadian prime minister, the Right Honourable William Lyon McKenzie King who is said to have consulted his beloved little lap dog and spiritual mediums rather than experts in government, finance and administration. He sought his dead mother's advice on affairs of state...during the depression and war! Yikes!
******************
Mr. Harper seems to have a similar grasp of this census material. His emphasis is certainly more Machiavellian [bullyish and manipulative with no regard for human rights or any rights other than those of 'the prince'].
It is more this than it is a reflection of democratic thinkers like Thomas Paine, Winston Churchill, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John A MacDonald, Étienne Cartier or Pierre Trudeau who died ten years ago this week.
Harper wants to weaken the Canadian people and make us vulnerable in a thousand ways by putting plugs in our ears and blindfolds on our political, social, industrial, strategic and commercial eyes. He says essentially, “Put out their eyes and cut off their ears! All of them!”
******************
Stephen is NOT a democratically minded person and wishes for enduring and unchallengeable power because he does not understand how to exercise true legitimate democratic power - which we call Authority. Authority is that legitimate power endowed in a person by a group through legal election processes.
Stephen Harper does not wish to be authorized to act in our behalf or in our defense and cares little for our opinion. He wants to have complete power of decision and action.
I say this is offensive and unacceptable and that even I could govern the nation in a more just, compassionate and effective manner....and I would do it democratically because I know how. This is why I know that Stephen Harper does not know how to use democratic methods – because I do know how and I know what that should look like.
I've watched him employ the deceptive methods he learned from Tom Flanagan who was his mentor and professor at the University of Calgary. Flanagan learned these methods and values in turn from his own mentor at the University of Chicago - Leo Strauss the deceptive manipulator and anti-democratic philosopher.
Strauss had the sensibilities and values and methods of a fascist and was not democratically-minded. He is known to have studied with the German existential philosopher Martin Heidegger who was known to have lectured in a Nazi uniform.
He opposed liberalism and viewed human rights and democracy with suspicion. He lived in Germany during WW1, served in the German army, and immigrated first to Britain and then to America in 1937. [Wikipedia]
Steve has learned well and we are in jeopardy because we have allowed him to deceive us and mislead us. It IS noteworthy that even Tom Flanagan who helped Harper to “consolidate the right” has abandoned him and opposes Harper's intentions for us, as has his staunch television support network - CTV News. More and more people are seeing through this laughable facade and his fiscal and economic jargon.
******************
In canceling the long form census Stephen Harper is weakening Canadians and our democracy. He is blinding and hobbling Canadians. This will make us more vulnerable to enemies both inside and outside our borders.
I suspect that this is exactly what Stevie intends. This is his goal and it is completely consistent with the methods of his spiritual mentor Leo Strauss the manipulative deceiver.
This is definitely NOT democratic thinking and behaviour. Strauss believed only in power.
Peace Pays! War destroys and makes us pay.
“Choose leaders who love you and cherish your liberties.”
******************
For more relevant information see this link
Tom Flanagan - The Man Behind Stephen Harper
**************
The Prime Minister wants us to believe that the census and the information derived from it are insignificant. In reality he simply wants to hobble the news agencies and the government agencies, all NGOs, businesses large and small, religious organizations and any useful program in this country, whether governmental, personal or public.
******************
The Prime Minister opposes the long form census on principle. This is like opposing the use of language on the basis of principle - or rather ideology. For a census is a tool for communication and analysis.
This all reminds me of what or rather who is in the news today – September 30, 2010. It's the self-named and self-proclaimed “Great Leader” of North Korea who claims to understand democracy and free market capitalism – both of which he opposes. In fact he seems to understand it about as well as Stephen Harper seems to understand democracy and human rights. Neither one does.
It also reminds me of another former Canadian prime minister, the Right Honourable William Lyon McKenzie King who is said to have consulted his beloved little lap dog and spiritual mediums rather than experts in government, finance and administration. He sought his dead mother's advice on affairs of state...during the depression and war! Yikes!
******************
Mr. Harper seems to have a similar grasp of this census material. His emphasis is certainly more Machiavellian [bullyish and manipulative with no regard for human rights or any rights other than those of 'the prince'].
It is more this than it is a reflection of democratic thinkers like Thomas Paine, Winston Churchill, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John A MacDonald, Étienne Cartier or Pierre Trudeau who died ten years ago this week.
Harper wants to weaken the Canadian people and make us vulnerable in a thousand ways by putting plugs in our ears and blindfolds on our political, social, industrial, strategic and commercial eyes. He says essentially, “Put out their eyes and cut off their ears! All of them!”
******************
Stephen is NOT a democratically minded person and wishes for enduring and unchallengeable power because he does not understand how to exercise true legitimate democratic power - which we call Authority. Authority is that legitimate power endowed in a person by a group through legal election processes.
Stephen Harper does not wish to be authorized to act in our behalf or in our defense and cares little for our opinion. He wants to have complete power of decision and action.
I say this is offensive and unacceptable and that even I could govern the nation in a more just, compassionate and effective manner....and I would do it democratically because I know how. This is why I know that Stephen Harper does not know how to use democratic methods – because I do know how and I know what that should look like.
I've watched him employ the deceptive methods he learned from Tom Flanagan who was his mentor and professor at the University of Calgary. Flanagan learned these methods and values in turn from his own mentor at the University of Chicago - Leo Strauss the deceptive manipulator and anti-democratic philosopher.
Strauss had the sensibilities and values and methods of a fascist and was not democratically-minded. He is known to have studied with the German existential philosopher Martin Heidegger who was known to have lectured in a Nazi uniform.
He opposed liberalism and viewed human rights and democracy with suspicion. He lived in Germany during WW1, served in the German army, and immigrated first to Britain and then to America in 1937. [Wikipedia]
Steve has learned well and we are in jeopardy because we have allowed him to deceive us and mislead us. It IS noteworthy that even Tom Flanagan who helped Harper to “consolidate the right” has abandoned him and opposes Harper's intentions for us, as has his staunch television support network - CTV News. More and more people are seeing through this laughable facade and his fiscal and economic jargon.
******************
In canceling the long form census Stephen Harper is weakening Canadians and our democracy. He is blinding and hobbling Canadians. This will make us more vulnerable to enemies both inside and outside our borders.
I suspect that this is exactly what Stevie intends. This is his goal and it is completely consistent with the methods of his spiritual mentor Leo Strauss the manipulative deceiver.
This is definitely NOT democratic thinking and behaviour. Strauss believed only in power.
Peace Pays! War destroys and makes us pay.
“Choose leaders who love you and cherish your liberties.”
******************
For more relevant information see this link
Tom Flanagan - The Man Behind Stephen Harper
**************
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