The New Christy Crunch

As much as I like Christy Clark, I have to admit this new add from the provincial NDP is rather funny. Christy Clark's biggest opposition is from within her own party. The MLAs don't support her the public does. That is problematic when she tries to actually accomplish something her party doesn't support when the election is over.

Right now she's handing out free candy before the election. Finally raising minimum wage when it was Gordon Campbell's liberals that froze the minimum wage for so long. Finally breaking ground on the expansion at the Surrey Memorial hospital when Gordon Campbell's liberals have slashed health care funding in BC turning hall ways into hospital rooms.

Even Gordon Campbell handed out free BC Hydro rebate cheques before one election only to drastically slash services while giving himself two huge pay raises and a gold plated pension.

I must admit the free train give away in the add was rather funny although what they did to BC Rail was no laughing matter.

Jack Layton visits Surrey

Jack Layton visited Surrey this morning and I had to check it out. The media has been playing up on his health but he looked pretty strong and vibrant to me. He walked with a cane and did the scouting tradition of shaking with his left hand because his right hand was supporting himself with his cane. When he shook my hand he looked into my eyes and all I could say was thank you. Thank you for coming to Surrey and thank you for standing up for what we believe in.

I found some of the things he said and some of the things in local candidates literature shocking. The first platform of Surrey North Candidate Jasbir Sandhu's pamphlet was Make our streets safe and Strengthen our public health care system.

Jack Layton spoke about how the hall way hospitals had degenerated into Tim Horton's hospitals in British Columbia citing a recent incident where they had to temporarily shut down a Tim Horton's kiosk and use it as an emergency ward overflow. Health care funding is a concern in British Columbia.

I was surprised to hear Jack Layton promote small business. Jack Layton truthfully pointed out that New Democrats opposed the HST federally. That was not lip service. He pointed out that the federal conservatives in BC still supported the HST when they knew how deathly opposed to the HST the residents of BC really were. He said, if the people of British Columbia can't trust their conservative MP's to represent their will on an issue like the HST, how can the people of British Columbia trust the federal conservative to represent their will on any other matter? So true.

Fleetwood Port Kells candidate Nao Fernando introduced the speakers and spoke well. He cited a list of things he believed in and said New Democrats know what they believe in, they believe in families.

Jack Layton also spoke about not rewarding big corporations for shipping jobs overseas like raw logs. Why would we export raw logs only to buy them back after they have been processed by other countries? That doesn't make sense. Neither does rewarding companies for off shore call centres. Even the mighty Obama agreed with that.

Strong families, better health care, better education, small business, no HST. All of his current positions used to be traditional conservative values which have been sold out for the neo con.

Jack Layton pointed out that in most ridings where conservatives were elected in BC it was the NDP who came in second and that it's the NDP who are capable of defeating Harper in BC which is very true.

Chuck Cadman was a legend in Surrey North. After his death his wife Donna later endorsed Penny Priddy who won that seat for the NDP. After Penny's term was up she ran for Surrey city counsel while Dona Cadman ran for Surrey North under the Conservative banner. Chuck Cadman was reelected as an independent. It was very surprising to see Donna Cadman run for the same party that tried to bribe her husband.

As much as I respect Donna Cadman and her husband Chuck, I am going to have to support Jasbir Sandhu and the NDP for that seat because Stephen Harper's cons didn't end with the attempted bribe of Chuck Cadman. Stephen Harper's cons are long and profound and it's time to stop them. Starting with the HST.



BTW the NDP are advocates for protecting pensions which is something the neo cons have sold out and are recklessly destroying. Jack Layton's motto is families first and no one gets left behind. Remember the Rambo movies? No one gets left behind? The neo con have abandoned that pledge a long time ago. It's time we demonstrate a little self respect and stop exploiting the elderly and physically challenged.

Closing Riverview and putting all the mentally ill on the street diminished all of us. You can't support a strong economy while you build reckless debt and ship jobs overseas. Coming home from the rally I saw someone put up some signs that said No surprise Bill. Turns out it was a cell phone company advertising unlimited text promising no surprise bills compared to other cell phone companies where hidden costs produce a rather surprising bill indeed.

At first I thought it was an election sign referring to Stephen Harper. Harper submitted a budget to the House of Commons without submitting the budget. He hid the costs and asked the house to vote on his budget without knowing the costs saying he'll surprise us with the costs later. He'll surprise us all right. By railroading the HST through in a Senate he just stacked after he promised an elected senate.

Recently someone on the blog asked me who I thought would best lead Canada and I said I didn't trust any of them with a majority government and since I didn't trust Harper or Iggy I was stuck with Jack Layton. I take that back. I know what I believe politically, socially and economically. I am not a neo con. I am a new democrat. I believe in real democracy and in social justice. I believe as Jack Layton pledges in Families First and No One gets left behind. Just like Carol James' motto of how everyone matters. That is the dream. That is what I support.

I'm in the process of uploading the video clips I took of Jack Layton's speech today in Surrey. No doubt it will be highly edited by the media.

The bottom line is trust. The shaking with the left hand tradition in scouting came from Lord Baden Powell. He was the founder of the scouting movement and some of the main hiking trails in Vancouver are named after him. The Lord Baden Powell trail stretches from Deep Cove, through Mount Seymour, Grouse Mountain, Cypress and on to Horseshoe bay.

Anyways, the shaking with the left hand tradition in scouting comes from Baden Powell's experiences with the Zulus in Africa. The Zulus held their spear in their right hand and their shield in their left. Shaking hands with the left was a sign of trust because it meant you had to put down your shield to do it. Likewise, I trust Jack Layton.

What would I do if Jack Layton actually became Prime Minister? Well, I think he would put an end to the HST and I don't think he would take money from schools and hospitals and spend it on the neo con Oil Wars. I think he really would promote small business, free enterprise and by not rewarding large corporations for sending Canadian jobs overseas I think that really would help the economy.

As for the neo con name calling all I have to say is that the neo cons don't know Jack about our traditional values. Word.

Here is the test of Jack Layton's speech

Libyan rebels recapture oil town

A convoy of rebel vehicles could be seen Sunday moving westward toward the oil town of Ras Lanouf, the latest town to be recaptured from forces loyal to Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Ras Lanouf and Brega were responsible for a large chunk of Libya's 1.5 million barrels of daily exports, which have all but stopped since the uprising that began in mid-February and was inspired by the toppling of governments in Tunisia and Egypt.

Rebels had appeared on the verge of defeat, but have claimed victories in recent days following coalition air strikes, carried out to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone. Their ultimate goal is to reach Gaddafi's stronghold of Tripoli.

Obviously our bombing of Libya has absolutely nothing to do with establishing a no fly zone or a cease fire and has everything to do with taking over Gaddafi's oil. Canada joins the neo Con Oil Wars.

---------------------------------------------------------------

And of course as soon as the armed Rebels took the oil town the Allies let them start shipping oil to fund their rebellion. This invasion is about oil and nothing else.

A Coalition of the Willing

Harper has sure kicked off his election campaign with some pretty bizarre fear mongering. He claims that the evil coalition will seek to upset democracy in Canada. OK so this guy is malicious and an idiot.

Harper never had 50% of the seats. Consequently, he has to team up with one of the other parties or he cannot form the government. Otherwise we keep having elections over and over which is what's happening.

Harper claims that when the other three main political parties team up together, somehow that violates democracy. That is absolute neo con nonsense. Political parties uniting on common ground is a good thing.

The fact that Harper refuses to do so is exactly what's wrong with Canada and his government. The fact that he and Ignatieff refuse work with any other party elected by the people to hold seats in Parliament show they are both power hunger dictators who refuse to listen to any of the other elected seats and insist on "ruling" and "governing" their way all the way with no regard for any one else.

The Neo Con

I was corresponding with someone recently and they made a reference to Ron Paul. The thought that came to my mind at the time was an interview I saw on youtube of Ron Paul referring to John McCain as a Neocon. I was surprised to hear him use the term. I've heard others use the term it just surprised me coming from him. Turns out he has spoken at great lengths about neocons in American politics.

Neocon is short for neo conservative. Only they're not conservative, they are something else. They are con artists who say one thing and do another. They say they will reduce the debt and lower taxes but they do the opposite. They are obsessed with spin, that is, they are big on propaganda.

In the United States they have Fox News, biased news reporting at it's worst. In Canada Stephen Harper is setting up a Fox News north where his spin doctors can control the media. There are many similarities between neocons and fascism.

The heart of the doctrine is the con. Fooling people with lies. Stephen Harper is a neo con. So is Nicolas Sarkozy. They are con artists who love power and actively promote the oil wars.

George Bush was a neo con. He added billions to the national debt. The day before 9/11 Donald Rumsfeld admitted that the Pentagon waste is massive and that the military mismanagement had lost or simply couldn't account for $2.3 trillion. Yet after that startling announcement, George Bush kept going back to congress asking for more and more money to pour into the invasion or Iraq after he lied about their weapons of mass destruction.

This model of waste, deception and debt is not a good model to follow. Yet Stephen Harper is frighteningly eager to follow it. He wants a huge sum of tax dollars to buy new fighter jets to help bomb other countries for their oil. On top of that, he was found in contempt of parliament for hiding those costs from the house of commons during budget debate.

Stephen Harper refused to take an amendment on his over reaching crime bill that would have saved millions. He also was found in contempt of parliament for hiding the costs of his over reaching crime bills from the house of commons during the budget debate. This contempt is historically unprecedented in Canada. Stephen Harper is starting a bad precedent.

Neocons are enemies of the constitution. Sarah Palin said non American citizens don't deserve the same rights Americans enjoy in the Constitution. That is one of the biggest cons there is. This Youtube clip is the perfect synopsis of how Sarah Palin is an enemy of the constitution.

The neocons pretend to support the constitution but there actions completely contradict every fibre of the Constitution taking us to a much different place.

Another part of the con is censorship. Rosie O'Donnell was fired from the View for her political opinions. Dan Rather was fired for exposing George Bush's embarrassing military record.

When you think about it, those two acts are pretty huge examples of some pretty major censorship in the land where the constitution is supposed to protect free speech. Without question, neo cons are eroding the constitution and are very effective at spin, propaganda and Cons.

Is Syria Next?

Violence in Syria breaks out over the protests there. Does that mean the Western allies will start bombing Syria next? Of course not. Syria doesn't have oil. Libya has oil. The largest oil reserve in Africa. Let's see how the Allies divide up that theft between them.

Dan Gardner wrote a bizarre editorial claiming that the bombing and invasion of Libya shows why Canada needs to purchase more fighter jets. Not. That is the exact reason why we shouldn't buy them. So Canada doesn't join in the oil wars and start bombing foreign countries for their oil.

Indeed the whole concept of the Conservatives being in contempt of Parliament is unprecedented. No other political party in Canada has ever refused to disclose itemized budget costs when asked to produce them for the House to debate and vote on the budget.

I take back what I said about Stephen Harper. I don't think he is stupid after all. I think he clearly is malicious as well if not more. It's those quiet awkward ones ya gotta worry about. They're the ones that end up being serial killers. So how many civilians have the allies murdered in Libya so far anyways?

Harper says one thing and does another. He talks about reducing taxes but spends more and instigates new taxes like the HST. Dropping the GST a percentage then raising it and taxing things the GST doesn't tax under the HST is deceptive.

Harper said he supported an elected Senate. Yet he pulled a Brian Mulroney and stacked the Senate to ram his HST through just like Mulroney did. Harper would have invade Iraq for their oil. Now he is invading Libya for their oil. This is a very bad precedent for Canada. Bombing Libya has nothing to do with creating a no fly zone or a cease fire.

In Syria, like in Egypt we have protesters against the government and for the government. One group wants the government to step down, the other group wants them to stay. So the protesters are fighting with each other.

In Libya the protesters took up arms and started firring on Gadaffi. He fired back. That is a civil war not a peaceful protest. There's a big difference. When a civilian takes up arms and starts shooting at the military, they are no longer civilians, they are rebels. Shooting an armed rebel is different than shooting an unarmed civilian.

Like I said, I'm no fan of Gadaffi, but I do object to this invasion completely just like the invasion of Iraq. Where were these greedy oil mongering bastards in Rwanda? Rwanda was a real human rights crisis and no one cared because they didn't have oil.

So stop pretending we are doing anything noble in Libya because it's obvious we are not. Our actions and motives are suspect and we should be ashamed of ourselves. Sarkozy is not trustworthy.

A series of classified US memos depict the French president as a self-absorbed, thin-skinned, erratic character who tyrannises his ministers and staff. He is portrayed as undiplomatic, hyperactive, sometimes uncouth and in need of careful handling, despite being the most pro-US French president since the second world war.

Sarkozy admired Bush and was disappointed France wasn't supportive of the invasion of Iraq. Kinda like Stephen Harper. You'd think he'd be proud after finding out they lied about Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction but no. Sarkozy doesn't care about that. He just wants to be... an oil wars storm trooper just like Stephen Harper does. Sad for both Canada and France. That is not the way it used to be. Je me souviens.

Canadian to command bombing of Libya mission

Great, the Harper government falls to a non confidence and they put a Canadian in charge of the invasion of Libya. Perhaps now's not the best time for Canada to take charge of that mission. Oh they're not, they just have a Canadian puppet up front and centre to run PR interference. Wonderful.

I thought this wasn't a NATO mission because Turkey didn't agree with the mission? Charles Bouchard will work with "his naval and air component commands" to enforce the no-fly zone and the so-called civilian-protection mission in Libya. So who's really in charge and who's really the PR man? Enforcing the no fly zone to protect civilians doesn't mean bombing Libya.

I don't think Harper is malicious. I think Michael Ignatieff is malicious. Harper is naive, power hungry and stupid. However, he is smart enough to become the leader of the conservatives so he just might be malicious after all. Birds of a feather.

Canadians have lost confidence in the government

Michael Ignatieff was right about one thing he said in the House of Commons today. Canadians have lost confidence in the government. Unfortunately, that would include him. He was right Harper and the Conservatives should have provided costs for new fighter jets, over reaching crime bills and corporate tax cuts.

He was right in that a government that breaks the rules and conceals facts from the Canadian people doesn't deserve to remain in office. He might even be right about the fact that Canadians have a "hunger" and "longing" for new leadership. Unfortunately he is certainly not the one Canadians hunger and long for. He is only a legend in his own mind.

So we are back at square one. We have kids fighting over who gets to be Prime Minister while they fail to do the job they were elected to do. Harper refused to take the amendment on the crime bill. He is determined to race ahead on this sick self glorifying Lord of War model as he pulls a Brian Mulroney and steam rolls over the general public with his HST - Harper Sales Tax.

Where is Chuck Cadman when you need him? We don't need another election. We need leaders who listen. We need a minority government that will work with the other parties instead of attacking and belittling them to promote themselves so they can push their own agenda without listening to the concerns of other Canadians.

It is a sad day for Canada. Their leaders are self serving children who refuse to listen to their constituents. Are we any better than those we demonize and bomb? Not much. I will say this though: the only party I really trust in Ottawa right now is the Bloc Québécois and I'm an anglaphone from Colombie Britannique. Isn't that ironic?

Crisis in Japan

How much does each one of those missiles deployed in Libya cost? Instead of spending tax dollars promoting private companies that profit from war, why not doing something noble and help the rescue efforts in Japan? The Japanese are very noble people. They would prefer to suffer in silence than accept help from outside. Yet the daily death toll rises simply because the number of people still missing is staggering.

Let's think about the earthquake in Haiti. The thought of being buried alive and trapped waiting for rescue is daunting. Many people died in that earthquake. Many were buried for long periods of time then rescued and survived.

The rising death toll in Japan just broke 10,000. Yet there are 17,500 still missing as foreign aid begins to trickle in. We were all outraged to hear that a police officer mishandled a "non emergency" call when a neighbour reported shots fired at Lisa Dudley's house where she lied in her home dying for four days. She was found alive but died of her injuries.

That was a tragedy. They thought of being trapped in her home dying for four days is heart wrenching. How about two weeks? It has been two weeks since the earthquake and Tsunami hot Japan and 17,500 people are still missing. Many of those people are trapped buried under ruble waiting to be rescued. Instead they suffer in silence as we run around spending millions of dollars pretending to be Noble in a conflicted bombing campaign against another oil Barron we have armed and exploited.

Japan has issued a non emergency call for help. Yet it should clearly be treated as an emergency just like the call to the police about Lisa Dudley's shooting. We are doing the same thing we criticize that police officer of doing. We are ignoring the real emergency and are being distracted by other things.

England shot civilians on Bloody Sunday. Did we bomb England? Saudi shot civilians protesting their monarchy. Did we bomb Saudi? A no fly zone in Libya can be rationalized. A conflict of interest bombing campaign can not be rationalized.

There is nothing laudable or brave about profiting from war and creating manufactured emergencies where we can pretend to be brave and noble. God knows there are enough real emergencies on this planet that need our attention. The rescue mission in Japan is one of them. Think about it. The survivors have no food. One survivor told the media we have no goal. They need a plan they can work towards to rebuild their lives and feed their families. That is something we can help with.

Hillary Clinton - I Spy a Bad Spy

So Harper is getting cosy with Hillary Clinton. Great, that's all we need. I sure hope Harper isn't still using that old PROMIS software we bought from the States. It was supposed to help US Allies categorize information but really was a Trojan horse that let the CIA spy on it's allies. As if that comes as any big surprise.

Recent Wiki Leaks documents show that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered U.S. diplomats, the CIA, and the FBI to spy on highest echelons of UN officialdom. Hold the door, that certainly comes as no big surprise either. I will add that the CIA certainly didn't need her permission to do what they have always done.

Hillary came out with public criticism of Wiki Leaks like others have but I will add that this trendy criticism is very Stalin like. If Wiki Leaks was posting letters from Nobel Peace Price winner Alexander Solzhenitsyn or if they were posting letters from China dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, the critics would be singing WikiLeaks' praises.

I find it very concerning that they would be in an uproar when WikiLeaks releases information about them but not their political opponents. That is a flaming red flag and a huge concern. The rhetoric they spew to rationalize their concerns is offensive. Pretending it has anything to do with saving innocent lives. Innocent lives are saved when we expose and confront corruption not when we hide or rationalize it.

Since Hillary Clinton has stepped up to the plate to be the CIA and Joint Chiefs of Staff PR Person for the invasion of Libya, perhaps we should ask Ms. Clinton to answer about her involvement in Mena Arkansas? After all she was first lady to the Governor of Arkansas who helped hide and cover up the CIA's cocaine smuggling operation that went on out of there for so many years.

In fact it has been said that she was a partner in the Rose Law Firm that had some questionable involvement in that affair. Then there was Whitewater. Why did Bill Clinton support that crooked corner who falsified death records and tampered with evidence ruling several murders in Arkansas suicides? Let's ask those questions and get those answers. Her connection to the Shadow government is quite concerning. Reminiscent of Vice President Johnston who took over after Kennedy was assassinated.

I will say this, there is nothing laudable or brave about censorship. There is nothing laudable or brave about smuggling cocaine and laundering money for the CIA. There is nothing laudable or brave about selling countries chemical weapons then invading them for their oil and pretending it has anything to do with human rights. And of course there is nothing laudable or brave about killing someone for revealing a state secret when it's in the public's best interest to do so. That is murder. At least Stalin threw his dissidents in jail.

BTW this blog just broke over a million views. I guess someone is actually reading some of this nonsense. And just for the record, France leading the bombing in Libya is a conflict of interest. They have been pals with Gadaffi for many years until he recently broke off ties with them. Now all of a sudden France wants a new leader there. Like that's not suspicious. France did have colonies in Africa BTW just like England and Spain did in the Americas. Sarkozy denies Gaddafi's donations claim of course.

Wow, look at all the countries ready to pounce on the spoils of war and seize all of Libya's assets. I'm sure they'll give themselves lots of congressional medals of honour for that theft.