Is Canada Ruled by a Government? Or a Criminal Organization? Read It & Think.

Preamble

                 Admittedly, the amount of time it took me to complete this blog post extended far beyond what I originally estimated. In my mind this was a cakewalk, and I was very wrong. Since it is just a blog post, I generally do not do the kind of in-depth research one would do when writing a magazine or newspaper article. I hadn't quite anticipated how difficult it is to research and separate the actual crimes and criminals associated with the Conservative Party of Canada from all of the things people post they call "Crimes of Harper" that are just extremely bad, nasty legislation, but, under our questionable system of democracy, quite legal unless and until we either vote these people out of our lives, or they are found to be illegitimate to hold office. In this post I will only deal with actual crimes legitimately tied to the Conservative Party of Canada, and those who are known participants in these crimes, those connected to the party who have been convicted of crimes, and others attached to incidents that could be alleged to constitute an actual crime. I will by no means provide you with the definitive list of either crimes or criminal associates, I believe we should demand the RCMP dig very deep and expose the "most heinous" crime ever perpetrated in our history. The fraudulent takeover of a sovereign government by a criminal organization. Canada's Bloodless Coup. You are welcome to add in the comment section, keep in mind we are ONLY interested in proven, committed crimes, alleged actions that could conceivably be prosecuted under the criminal code or other statute of Parliament, and remember if no one has faced the charge suggested, it can only be alleged, proof is proof. The other thing you can add is people associated with the Conservative Party of Canada who have had a part in any crime committed by the party, or who have a criminal past that would include serious charges. Another category you may add in comments would be companies who have done business with the Government of Canada who have been convicted of some serious crime. As always please provide links.

            

Part 1: Historical Background

     

               Keep in mind this entire post, while based on what I feel is considered and considerable research, remains the opinion of one man. You have the choice to read what I say, and please do consider it carefully as it is a weighty issue. I have no legal background, I am not now nor have I ever been a law enforcement officer, lawyer, prosecutor or judge. I am a Canadian citizen, very concerned my country is in grave danger. What I am writing is just one serious problem we face, but serious enough I believe it's something every thinking Canadian should consider. You are free to leave general comments with your thoughts at the end, I encourage discussion both for and against, but I do insist you not be abusive to anyone. Bring your thoughts and please try to keep them based on fact. Thanks.

Part 2: What The Criminal Code of Canada Says

               Believe it or not, one does NOT have to be Conservative to believe in law and order. As a general rule, everyone can find one or more laws we do not agree with while still having the expectation of life in a lawful society. In Canada, we are a country of laws, and the overwhelming majority of Canadians are law abiding people, who live among urban or rural societies where, for the most part, the law is respected. Police are respected as a local/Provincial/National authority, charged with investigating crimes, gathering evidence, and if the evidence weighs heavily enough, it must be presented to the Crown, our lawful authority in Canada. Generally this is what citizens expect when they happily submit a portion of their taxes to fund our police forces to serve and protect.

               Once the Police submit evidence to the Crown, a member of the Queen's Council, a Crown Prosecutor is assigned and that person's job is to review the totality of the evidence and make the weighty decision as to whether the evidence merits going forward with charges. If the Crown Prosecutor feels she/he has enough evidence to successfully prosecute (i.e. a good chance of obtaining a conviction), they will lay the appropriate charge(s) against the appropriate individual(s) and/or entity/entities.

               This is only a simple explanation in laymen's terms, please don't attack me for not giving a full history of how the legal system works, I am attempting to get to an important topic for Canadians to think about and discuss.

               Once charges are laid, it is the expectation of the public there will be a public trial, which, through personal attendance or as reported by media, we will be informed of the progress and outcome of the trial and any appeals by either party or parties afterward.

               This, in summary, is how our system is supposed to work. In most cases, very serious, honest, earnest police, lawyers, and judges follow this process and do their job to the fullest. Most of those in our justice system are serious about justice, and I think we can be thankful for that. We don't have a perfect system, far from it, but it serves most of society in a manner we find acceptable, and one we can try to change, to improve, if we have concerns.

               As you can tell from the title of this op/ed, I have concerns. I assure you, I am not joking or being in any way sarcastic in any of what is going to follow from here.

               It is my very strong personal belief the RCMP is derelict in their duty to protect Canadians from the most serious crime ever committed in this county. The takeover of government by a criminal organization, the Conservative Party of Canada. This Organization is in contravention of Section 467.11 of the Criminal Code of Canada, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46. Below you may read the law as it is written. Following that I will submit to you evidence I believe should be the basis of a criminal investigation immediately. When you finish reading, you are free to reach your own conclusions. I personally want action from the RCMP on this very serious manner.

Please Note: When finished this post, come back to this and replace the highlighted with CPC

Part 3: Why the Tingley Family but Not the Harper Government?

               By chance of where I live, I have actually seen the RCMP and the Crown use the law above. Keep in mind, my comments are my personal thoughts, although I will allow you to link to news reports that point to many aspects of what I am discussing. You will either agree, disagree, and meet me somewhere in the middle, but seriously, we need to talk.

               Salisbury, and by extension, Middlesex, NB is easily less than half an hour by car from where I currently live, and relatively the same from where I lived in 2008, when the RCMP accused the Tingley family of many crimes, including: Being part of an organized crime group (as per the law above), conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and other drugs, and weapons and  firearms offences. Middlesex is a rural area, a name on the map, but in no way could you describe it as a community. Call it a spot in the woods, recognized by map makers. One time, long ago, it may have aspired to becoe a community, but luck of the draw made Moncton, NB and it's sisters Dieppe and Riverview the major community in these parts, where courts of law grind through the unspectacular, for the most part, until that rare moment when 130 RCMP officers from detachments far and wide, descend on a sleepy New Brunswick town called Salisbury and raid the Tingley family homes. Believe me, while no one flinches at Organized Crime in Montreal, the idea there is a crime family (according to the RCMP and the Crown of Canada) in Salisbury is HUGE NEWS. TV - Radio - Print - Rumour - Gossip - 50 Shades of truth - the whole freakin' enchilada baby. This isn't Toronto or New York. We're a region of around a quarter million folks make their home, work and life, spread out, for the most part, in a wide area of small towns and sleepy villages, nondescript clumps of homes, cuddling the local gas station, and when you pass you're in the company of trees. Thousands of square kilometres of trees, and your average Moose, Deer, Bears, Foxes, Porcupines and other members of the animal community. If you live in New Brunswick you know the news is produced in the major centres, generally the closest one, in this case, it became National News. Explosive allegations of organized crime where you'd least expect it. The RCMP, cleaning up a clear and present danger. Sexy story, even sexier charges.

               I followed this case closely. Many did. It was sensational. Omnipresent. There was a lot of discussion. Admittedly a lot of people knew or knew of one or more of the Tingley family (8 were arrested in connection with the massive RCMP operation.), especially notable would be an ongoing family feud with a former business partner in the small town. Everyone had an opinion, most judged the family as being guilty as charged based on reputation rather than fact. Knowing the things I know, and from many people I know who know or know of the Tingley family, I found it more than just a little over the top when the news broke they were a sophisticated Organized crime family. In reality, the Tingleys were a long time rural clan, perhaps dabbling in things they shouldn't (to be completely above board they would best be described as small time hoodlums). You can read the summation done by Macleans magazine here. 

               Never has it been my interest to talk about things I know nothing about. I avidly research. I read everything voraciously. I ask experts about topics I'm unclear on. That's what I do. To some, I'm kind of an oddball because I store a vast knowledge of many things. My curiousity is never ending. No subject is "too stupid" or "too boring" or any other excuse people use to close their minds. I prefer to open mine to any tidbit of knowledge, especially if something piques my interest, which, often, it does. Lifelong learner is a badge of honour for me.

               I remember being particularly interested in the Tingley case, because when that particular law was passed it was very controversial. When I was able to actually see it in action, I went to the Criminal Code of Canada and downloaded the act they were using to charge them.

               As time passed, something kept nagging at me. I knew the Tingley Family wasn't organized crime, but I began to suspect this act could be applied to someone else. That someone was Stephen Joseph Harper, who, when the evidence we already have is considered, clearly is the boss of a continuing criminal enterprise, aka the Conservative Party of Canada, including all its past and present directors, employees and MP's who have enabled this mafia to continue their massive crime spree against Canadians.

               Before you write this off as me having a hate on for them (which, admittedly I do, they've possibly destroyed Canada for my lifetime and no less than my daughter's lifetime, possibly even her daughter's lifetime or more) read the statute, consider the evidence I will put forth as a mere lay person. Consider the Government of Canada and the RCMP spent untold millions of dollars to investigate and unsuccessfully prosecute a small town, small time family, who, admittedly dabbled in drugs and various petty crimes, mere rednecks really, as an Organized Crime family. Since the prosecution declined to offer any evidence at their trial, and the only dead body in this story is one of the Tingley brothers, who, those who know him insist, died from the stress of having his life destroyed, I conclude they aren't organized crime. This has me asking: If the RCMP can commit these kind of resources to investigate the Tingley family, why are they not investigating the Conservative Party of Canada as Organized Crime? With each passing day, I am convinced this investigation must happen. I don't have authority or resources to put this together. When you read what I lay out below, ask yourself...is there enough evidence to launch a thorough police investigation and move forward with charges if a preponderance of the evidence shows it to be probable they are, in fact, a criminal organization hiding in the guise of the Government of Canada.

               Let me be perfectly clear: I am not judging and I do not want anyone to judge. I just want everyone to read, consider, and if you believe, as I do, there is enough evidence already in the public domain to warrant a complete, thorough RCMP investigation, every bit as intense as the one when they went after that sleepy-town family during the reign of the current administration, then it's time Canadians demand that investigation. In the words of Stephen Harper himself: "We won't take no for an answer".

Part 4: Enough Evidence to Launch an Investigation? Why Not?

               

               When I look, I can see a pattern that I would very much believe fits the definition of what any sensible person would believe is organized crime. It isn't just a series of disconnected mistakes. These things are not "oopsies" and they certainly are nothing that can or should be remedied by a simple "I'm sorry" or apology of any sort. I have never been more serious, nor have I ever leveled a more serious allegation at anyone, anytime, ever in my life. I do not take this lightly. The known evidence is bad enough and there will be no reason to suspect much more is both already out in the open, and a great deal we haven't heard of, nor dreamed of, yet.

Part 4(a) Crimes,  & Alleged Criminal Activities

               I'll only begin with the first election that brought Harper to the position of Prime Minister of Canada. Crime prior to that and after the creation of the Conservative Party of Canada could also be considered.

               Just so I can get this post out there, I am not going to link to the crimes or the players, I encourage you to look any of them up. They are all a matter of public record and can usually be found immediately with a quick Google search.

               I also urge you to ask yourself, even if our current laws do not have harsh punishments for those who cheat in elections, wouldn't you consider crimes committed against democracy, the supposed underpinning of our "civilized society", a little more serious that an offense one could pay a fine for? In my opinion, the truth is, cheating democracy is subversive.

A List to Start the Conversation (No Particular Order)

               

               Keeping in mind while some of these have been prosecuted, or we have been told there was an investigation, we're looking at the totality here, the large picture of a continuing pattern of crimes committed, crimes suspected, and known criminal associates,

               So we begin with the (in)famous "In and Out" crime. Engineered and run, by public knowledge, by conservative party "operatives" Irving Gerstein & Doug Finlay (now deceased husband of loyal Harper Cabinet Minister Diane Finlay (keep her name in mind, it comes to play eventually), This scheme illegally funneled money through a false accounting scheme that made it appear as though the money was being deposited to local riding associations when no money was actually given to them, it was kept in a national warchest and used to heavily advertise in the last days leading up to the 2006 election. This is cheating democracy. This isn't an administrative error, this is the beginning of their complex schemes to gain control of a country. If you don't quite understand in and out, think of it as going to 100's of bank machines and making fake deposits by putting empty envelopes in the machine, then withdrawing money and spending it. They did that, on a massive scale. When it was clear Gerstein & Finlay were caught, the Conservative Party of Canada showed great honour and took a plea bargain, paying just over $100,000 total for two counts of whatever marshmallow law that allows you to cheat citizens, pay a fine, and appoint the criminal masterminds of said crimes to the Senate of Canada. That, apparently is the punishment for subverting a nation, a job for life in the posh Senate.

               Next I want to allege there is something wrong when the RCMP claim to have investiged the Cadman Affair and absolutely nothing was criminal about offering a dying man a $1,000,000.00 insurance policy in exchange for his vote in the House of Commons (Yeah, the place where they make our laws). This much is clear: The Conservative Party of Canada dispatched two "operatives" (to the best of anyone's knowledge, it was widely rumoured to be Doug (In & Out) Finlay and Tom Flanagan.) who offered dying MP Chuck Cadman a Million Dollar life insurance policy in return for him voting against a Liberal Government budget so the government of the time would fall. Cadman refused and voted to support the Liberal budget. This sure doesn't differ much from "Yo Vinny, you do this for us and we'll take care of your family" we've seen in so many mafia-themed movies and books.

               Since we are on the subject of cheating democracy, we could move forward to the 2008 election (Remember that? The election that broke Stephen Harper's fixed election date law but never mind that little subversion) where we have the now convicted former Parliamentary Secretay to the Prime Minister of Canada, our lying, crying, reality-rejecting poster boy, Dean Del Mastro. Yes folks, old Deaner overspent in his bid for reelection then attempted to cover it up with falsified documents. Now his old friends and supporters would refer to him as Disgraced former MP Dean Del Mastro.

               Let us not discriminate. Election 2011 brought us Cabinet Minister Peter Penashue, who resigned in disgrace for what?? Overspending?? Where have we heard that before? Why, we've heard it in every election the Conservative Party of Canada has ever won. Hmmmm. Of course the conservatives find ways to shrug this off as administrative differences, but how often and how many "administrative differences" can you have? Let us also ask MP's Shelley Glover, James Bezan and Jeff Watson, all accused of overspending and failing to file amended expense reports. The coincidences abound. Those are just the ones I know of.

               We cannot speak of election fraud without questions about the 50 million pound gorilla on our front room couch, Robocalls. Again, cheating democracy has delivered another Conservative Party of Canada "operative" Michael Sona with a conviction in criminal court. If there's one thing we can see about these people, they certainly have convictions.

               More disturbing when we discuss the Robocall affair, was an unsuccessful attempt in Federal Court to launch a private prosecution on behalf of a number of citizens who felt a crime had been committed against them by directing them to phony polling places with fake calls identifying Elections Canada as the caller. While ultimately the case was dismissed, the judge said a number of chilling things in his decision, you will find his conclusions beginning on page 87. If you aren't concerned about a Federal judge being convinced widespread fraud was perpetrated upon citizens across the country. This also requires highly trained professionals to investigate,

               Again, these crimes and alleged crimes are in no particular order, but you will see through the post, themes recur. Let's discuss what I consider are crimes committed by the boss himself, in case you're thinking he's squeaky clean and unaware he is surrounded by, and has surrounded himself with a pack of criminals. He has no halo to polish. On at least 3 occasions, I allege Stephen Joseph Harper has committed fraud. He is unquestionably guilty of fraudulently appointing to the Senate of Canada in a designated seat for the Province of New Brunswick, his long time, loyal employee Carolyn Stewart-Olsen. She assumed office on August 27, 2009 even though she had worked for the Reform party in Ottawa from 1993 to 2000, then for Reform MP Deborah Gray, then personally for Harper from 2002 until she took her seat in the Senate. Prior to working for the Reform Party and the Conservative Party of Canada she was Head of the Ambulatory Care Unit at Ottawa's Grace Hospital beginning in 1986, later becoming Nursing Manager for Emergency, Ambulatory Care, Recovery Room and CSR at Carlton Place Hospital, also in Ottawa. Prior to moving to Ottawa, she was an Emergency room nurse in the Province of Quebec. The fraud here is that it's clear Stephen Harper knew without a doubt she was NOT a resident of New Brunswick and, in fact, had not been for a quarter century or more, working at his side personally for 7 years before taking her fraudulent seat in the Senate. Unlike the next characters we'll look at, this one has not been charged or seemingly investigated by RCMP, but has already admitted wrongdoing by fraudulently claiming living expenses she wasn't entitled to. This is secondary to the crime of her sitting in a Senate seat she is not entitled to, from which she has not been suspended or removed.

               Goodness gracious it seems Stephen Harper has a total disregard for the law concerning where a prospective Senator actually lives as opposed to where the Senate seat is he decides to appoint them to. When it comes to his appointing people, questionable character is also a top consideration for a spot in Canada's "Chamber of Sober Second Thought". We had Hubert Pichet, ex-tory senate staffer. Fraud, breach of trust. Let us not forget Conservative Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu who, at best, misused taxpayers funds even after the "Ethics Commissioner" told him he could not continue to keep his girlfriend on his Senate payroll. His wife didn't seem to like it much, nor do I.

              As for more Harper Senate appointment crimes. He broke the law when he appointed Mike Duffy, well known to be a long-time Ottawa resident, as senator for PEI. A third illegal appointment is that of long time Toronto, Ontario resident Pamela Wallin as Senator from Saskatchewan. Canadians should be well aware that Duffy has been suspended from the Senate and is currently facing 31 criminal charges and Wallin, herself suspended from the Senate is under investigation by RCMP, who allege she has committed fraud and breach of trust. We also know Mr. Harper is responsible for the elevation of Canada's youngest Senator, Patrick Brazeau, a controversial figure from the start, double dipping by drawing 2 salaries. One from an Aboriginal group he represented, and the other from the Senate of Canada. Senator Brazeau was also suspended from Senate, and has alternately been sent to court-ordered rehab, or charged with various crimes. You can read his Wickipedia page here. Many Canadians will most famously remember the bloodied Brazeau, TKO'd by a young Liberal MP named Justin Trudeau in a bout for charity that was nevertheless considered a Conservative VS Liberal Battle with Fists. Whether or not the appointment of Mr Brazeau is also subject to questions of residency as has been intimated, we are unsure, but this continues 2 patterns. The Boss of the Conservative Party of Canada, Stephen Joseph Harper wantonly flaunts the law in the faces of citizens, fraudulently appointing to long-term, high-paying, important legislative jobs that are supposed to serve the interests of their entire region of the country (this is why Senators are supposed to live in the Province they occupy a seat for), people who are not residents of those provinces, and it is absolutely fact that Duffy, Wallin, and Stewart-Olsen were not, and had not, for a long period of time had their principal residences in Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, or New Brunswick respectively. Oddly enough, while Duffy has been charged, and Wallin is under RCMP investigation, Carolyn Stewart-Olsen seemingly does not face the same criminal justice system and the other senators accused of misappropriating public funds, she gets "Oopsie-Justice", wherein she admits she made a boo-boo, somehow confusing her long time home in Ottawa as being just another lovely spot in New Brunswick. Why, the moment that nice young man from the PMO explained that Ottawa was not a nice city in New Brunswick, it was in fact, the Capital of Canada and located in Ontario, which, stunningly is in another province, she promised to pay back some money and went right back to her job. Since the amount is over Sixty-Thousand Dollars I can't imagine how she does not suffer equal consequences to Duffy and Wallin and Brazeau (for now, the Auditor-General is looking at the expenses of all Senators). I find it difficult to go without mentioning Nigel "Good to go from the PM" Wright, The man acknowledged to have paid $90,000.00 to said Senator Duffy yet is not being charged with bribing a senator, which I read as the RCMP trying to position good old Nige as the victim of a bribe from Duffy. I don't want to continue with Wright at the moment, because, as with all things related to the Conservative Party of Canada, there is a pattern, and this name will come up again, in a bit.

              While we're at it, let's keep in mind this group doesn't like to keep documents. Harper lawyer Benjamin Perrin deleted all his emails, which isn't exactly legal or ethical, of course, since things don't just get deleted and disappear, they existed elsewhere on the system and were recovered, which clears how of any wrongdoing, just like no criminal goes to jail if he just gives back the stolen car, right? Also on the subject of documents, I cannot imagine how the Conservative Party of Canada is able to table fraudulent documents in Parliament (The place our laws are made) in case you need a refresher, it's here. Are actions like this things honest people trying to represent Canadians do? Or just more criminal behaviour patterns?

              If I were given a budget from my company to complete an important project and I took over half of it and gave it to my pal Tony to do renovations and add fancy outbuildings to his home, I would be arrested and charged with theft and fraud. Amazingly, Jim Flaherty had 81 Million dollars to help speed up Canadian border crossings which were suffering big backlogs. Jimmy gave his pal Tony Clement 50 million which he used to build Gazebos and Washrooms, put up signs and beautify the area. I don't see anyone in jail for misappropriating funds. Of course, the players just keep popping up repeatedly, like...I don't know...some kind of mafia or something. It's amazing. Here we have that name I said earlier would pop up again...Diane Finley. Perhaps this, and also this may not be crimes, per se, but it continues to suggest a pattern of corruption. Just look at good old "Oily Joe Oliver",  recently, he illegally sole sourced a contract for writing 2 speeches  to long time Conservative Party of Canada lawyer Guy Giorno. In my world, just these few things I've mentioned here should give an experienced investigator an inkling this government may be rife with corruption, practiced over years, and by more than just a single person.

              I'm sure you don't mind if the Conservative Party of Canada adds some insult to your injury. When they commit crimes...you and & I pay...as evidenced here, here, and here. Don't think this is the only evidence you pay for their transgressions. Look how much they spend on legal bills fighting....well...fighting everything except their pals. Still sounds mafiosi to me.

              Before I complete this section I just want to touch on our so-called squeaky clean Conservative all-around good guy Nigel Wright. He is up to his ears in what I allege are corrupt practices, seemingly all at the behest of Stephen Joseph Harper, Capo de Tutti Capi of the family they call the Conservative Party of Canada. We have all of this disgusting mess from the Mike Duffy bribe, we have him interfering in the awarding of a contract to a Harper associate who was not qualified (Diane Finley mess), then meeting the same Diane Finley and Patrick Brazeau to see that approved funding was pulled from a project because the NDP won the riding, defeating a sitting conservative. Nigel didn't just stick to these things, he wasn't above strong-arming (another mob fave) when he pressured MP Mark Adler to settle in a lawsuit brought by Conservative Party of Canada fund raiser Nathan Jacobsen, a man extradited to the USA to face money laundering charges. Does anyone think that's the extent of all this?

Part 4(b) Convicts, Future Convicts, Criminal Associates, Etc.

              Just a quick rundown on some of the convicts, alleged criminals, and people contributing to this blight on the country once known as Canada, usurped by worse than a bad government, we've been taken over by a serious criminal cabal.

              In no particular order, all of these people are friends or associates or employees or affiliated with the Mafia Don Stephen Joseph Harper & the Conservative (Mafia) Party of Canada: Let's begin with "standing with the alleged pedophile, the drummer in his band, Phillip Nolan, facing charges of sexual interference with a minor, but Steve didn't know him, right? How about current Privy Council Officer Arthur Porter, currently in Panama awaiting extradition to Canada for allegedly stealing from a hospital of all things. Of course, Stephen felt this man, a big honcho at SNC Lavalin (what may just be the world's most corrupt company), was perfect to oversee CSIS. Obviously, giving away Canada's nuclear program and all its secrets to this company for chump change was a sweet thing for Steve. He's done tons of business with this corrupt company. Our man Harper also made 5 time fraud convict Bruce Carson his right hand man in the PMO. Should we try to forget the RCMP cleared this man for this job, where he could eyeball the highest classified documents in the land? Is it any wonder I believe they're corrupt? No one has ever answered for this, and poor Bruce got fired, just in time to commit more alleged crimes. I don't want to forget a man who pulled in lots of cash for the Conservatives, Nathan Jacobsen, who had to be extradited to the USA to face the music on...guess what? Money Laundering charges! Hmmmm. We have the two men who would have been found guilty of the In and Out scandal had the party not stepped in and took the rap in a plea bargain, Conservative "bagman" Irving Gerstein..and the now dead Doug Finley, who was also rumoured to be one of the two operatives who offered a bribe to dying Chuck Cadman. They got senate seats! Speaking of Senators, Brazeau, Wallin, Duffy, and I will not leave out the fraudulent Senator from New Brunswick (except she wasn't a resident here) Carolyn Stewart-Olsen who had to pay back well over 60 Thousand dollars for committing the same crime Duffy is charged for, except the RCMP seems to ignore this...they seem to ignore a lot. Other crooked Conservative Senators include Hubert Pichet and Pierre Hugues Boisvenu. Guy Giorno...a lawyer doesn't know he shouldn't accept taxpayer funds to write partisan speeches for Oily Joe Oliver, and who knows what other corrupt practices a lawyer attached to these despicable people would dream up or be involved in. Never forget "Gazebo" Tony Clement, misappropriating 50 million of your tax dollars to gussy up his riding at the expense of border crossings. There are proven election fraudsters (don't let our lax laws fool you, cheating democracy is among the worst crimes anyone can commit) like Dean Del Mastro, Peter Penashue, Michael Sona, and let us not forget Judge Vic Toews, now sitting on the bench in Manitoba, the province he was convicted in. Overspending is still election fraud, so I can't forget to list Shelley Glover (former POLICE officer!), James Bezan, and Jeff Watson. Don't you believe there are more? From a government (sic) that has been caught subverting democracy in every election they came to power in. Funny that. Don't forget Cabinet Ministers, such as Maxime Bernier who left classified documents in the apartment of a "girlfriend" with connections to the Hell's Angels (I trust them more than these crooks), then there's Bernard Valcourt, he'll keep an eye on things since he lost the other one in a drunk driving motorcycle accident in New Brunswick. Also, Diane Finley, who awarded a contract to someone her own department said did not qualify, and taking approved funding away from an innocent party because conservatives lost the riding...not sure what you call that, but I call that corruption. Last but not least is Tom Flanagan, rumoured to be the other party in the Cadman bribe.

              By no means do I believe any of what I am writing is an exhaustive list, in fact, everything I've written has come only from incidents I personally remember. I'm sure there are far more things I didn't think of, many we don't yet know about, others that have been covered up and a whole lot no one ever looked at in this light. All I can say is I allege the Conservative Party of Canada is a criminal organization ass defined by the Criminal Code of Canada and there is enough evidence in the public domain for the RCMP to launch a full and thorough investigation into these and any/all crimes committed by/for this Stephen Joseph Harper led Mafia.

              The question remains. Why the Tingley family, and why not The Conservative Party of Canada? Why indeed? Time to ask the RCMP.

               

They Didn't Die For This

They Didn't Die For This

     While figures vary, it seems reasonable to go with the Wikipedia estimate of 60 Million dead in World War II. Not all were soldiers, sailors, or airmen who signed up to fight. Many were innocent civilians. Women, children, disabled people, old people, anyone not fit to fight, yet in the way of the horror of heavily mechanized, indiscriminate war machines, grinding up human life in a battle of ideologies. The "Free World" versus the "Axis Forces".

     Moral high ground. Dammit, we had it in spades. When it was over we mourned, yet we celebrated the ultimate victory of good versus evil. Of course we were the good, we always are. Of course the German, Italian, and Japanese forces were told by their leaders the same kinds of things we're told. The bad guys are fighting us. They hate us because of who we are. They are envious of our successes and obvious moral superiority. Most of all, the evil people want to impose their way of life on us.

     So, 60 Million died so "Freedom & Democracy" could triumph over "Fascism & Imperialism". That, at least, is the narrative we are supposed to have firmly implanted in our psyche. Why wouldn't we? This is the message that has been employed forever in the name of war. Your side is Good. The other side is Bad. Eventually, when we ran out of countries with formal armies to bomb or invade or provide arms to one or both sides of a conflict, we massaged the message so we are taking on shadowy terrorists. If you are invaded in the name of "Freedom & Democracy" and you dare try to fight back, you are an evil terrorist. Fighting back is not allowed if it's us attacking you. BUT WAIT! You can redeem yourself. You can become "ONE OF US"!! If someone else is attacking you, or we don't like your leader, or you have something of value to our billionaires, we're very happy to immediately recognize your sovereignty and we'll make sure you're armed to the teeth. We are always happy to help fight against "evil forces" in the world. All we want is control of your resources, and no matter if you've lived under some other system of governance for centuries, you must become a "democracy" which means you must install the person we have chosen for your country as leader.

     Keep in mind, that 60 million is just the dead. Not the families forever torn asunder, some missing a child or children, some children missing whole families. It's not those who came back, many physically scarred, all of them changed mentally, forever. Many more would die, eventually succumbing to injuries, addictions, suicides. My own father lasted until 1967. Others died earlier, others later. Most of them are gone now. Now I find myself looking at the world asking: What did they die for?

They Didn't Die For This

     There would be an uphill battle for you to get me to believe our parents/grandparents died so we could become the bullies of the world, so our "Western-style Democracies" somehow have the right to do the thinking for the rest of the planet. That it's our way or no way. They died to preserve a way of life, not to export it to places that never asked for it. We're a heavily armed version of the Christian Missionaries out to save the savages by showing them the right way to live, which, of course, is our way.

 They Didn't Die For This

     Meanwhile, on the home front. Our free democracies that so many died to preserve, have been turned into benevolent dictatorships, where we have a semblance of freedom. You're free to go to work. You're free to spend your money. To a certain extent you're free to say what you want, when you want to, unless it is damaging to the ruling class. No matter how much we believe in our various "Constitutionally Guaranteed Rights" when it comes to exercise them, and exercising them is at cross purposes to the large moneyed interests, even if you are defending your own land, if you are defending the future of your children, if you gather in groups of larger than one person, you will be considered a threat and dealt with as such. Increasingly, governments are spying on your every move. The minute you express dissent in the wrong way, when you perhaps decide to protest whatever you see as wrong or unfair treatment, you will be met by fully militarized police and/or private for-hire armies. They will hurt you, they may even kill you, and in the end, some, if not all of you will go to jail for your crime of fighting back when attacked by these overwhelming forces with their chemical weapons like tear gas, pepper spray, snipers with rubber bullets and when they get close enough they'll deploy tasers and batons and fists and if they feel like it, they shoot you dead in the street.

     This is just the tip of the iceberg. We aren't truly free. We are the instruments of violent corporate rule. Every few years, those of us who still want to believe we don't live in a society where we're powerless get to mark an "X" on a paper dreaming something more than cosmetic will change. I only hope we wake up faster. I hope we can come to our collective senses before we receive the same lesson every bully has to face. Sooner or later someone, or ones, will stand up to us and beat our ass into the ground. We have to stop trying to rule the world, learn to rule ourselves, and play well with our neighbours no matter the rules they wish to live by. If we do not learn this simple lesson, history is going to repeat itself, and chances are good, like it or not, WE are the ones on the wrong side of it this time. Dragged here, by the massive greed of a tiny portion of our collective populations.

     One thing I know for sure...

They Didn't Die For This

#DearPoliticians

*****WARNING*****

     Even though this post is titled #DearPoliticians I don't expect actual politicians to read it. Reading is hard. Politicians hire people to read stuff for them, because we all know, stuff is hard. This usually leads to the politician only knowing whatever parts they can remember of what the people paid to read remembered and at some point may have passed on to them. (Oh those junior staffers!)

     In any event, you'll be comforted to know, no actual politicians will probably be hurt in the making and sharing of this post.

     Before I get to it, I'll explain a bit. I'd enjoy getting this one interactive. This is a non-partisan deal, it's designed to give everyone a voice. Join me in making Saturday, August 24, 2013 #DearPoliticians Day.

     Here's what I encourage you to do in the next 2 weeks. Find ways to use the hashtag. If you want to tweet something that applies to all politicians, use the hashtag. If you want to promote our special day, please do so. Below I will be writing a general list of things I want from politicians. All of them. All parties, all levels of government, all of what I am going to say applies to some of them, and some of what I'm going to say applies to all of them. I encourage you to get friends (and politicians) to read this post, share it, and encourage them to share as well. Wait! One more thing. Since I'm giving you a couple of weeks, I want you, and others, to write your/their own #DearPoliticians letter. On the 24th we will see if we can vault the hashtag to the top of the trends by sharing our letters and tweeting what important to us, not them telling us what we should think is important.

     If you have a blog, write a letter. If you're into video, put your letter up on youtube and we'll share it, please use the hashtag #DearPoliticians somewhere in your title. If you want to add your comments but don't have a blog, put your thoughts in the comments section of my blog and I will be tweeting it regularly.

     My letter is below. Think of what you want politicians to know and get yours written. Politicians say they want to listen to you, so let's dedicate Saturday, Aug. 24/13 to using #DearPoliticians to tell them what we think.

#DearPoliticians

     You seem quite fond of saying you want to hear from your constituents but I'm not convinced any of you are sincere. You'll have to convince me with actions, not words, not even words that I would really like to hear. Right now, I am willing to give you benefit of the doubt. If I see no change and you can't bother to respond and make yourself known, it will be clear you care less what the voting public wants from you.

     Number one on my list, stop lying. Period. You may say something that makes me angry or upset but I will still have to respect you if you are telling the truth. Every time you people choose to lie and end up getting caught, you erode the faith and trust we are supposed to be putting in your hands. Sometimes the truth is ugly but it will always set you free.

     Congratulations, you won an election. Like it or not, you also work for the people who didn't vote for you equally. I don't expect you to please everyone all the time, but I want you to put the words cooperation and compromise at the forefront of your thinking when dealing with issues.

     Beyond the lying thing, if you cannot behave honestly and ethically, I don't want you as a representative of anyone except yourself. You aren't fit for the position. This includes all the ways you spend the public's funds. This is 2013, not 1867 and we could use a bit of progress. The technology is such that you can provide a real-time accounting online of all incoming and outgoing transactions. When it's all out in the open you will think twice about all spending, and to me, that's about the most important thing. I don't mind paying taxes that are used in a good and defensible way.

     Stop cheating in elections. Stop using robocalls. Stop scaring people. Stop spending money you cannot prove the value of. Stop ignoring the facts because they aren't convenient. Stop ignoring you are allowing your grandchildren's future to be destroyed for the sake of a few dollars today. If I send you an email, I don't want you to respond with a form letter. When you do take the time to reply, I would like you to actually answer the question I asked you, not dance around it then summarize your party's platform on everything but what I asked about.

     Most of all, if you really claim to be a democracy, you must offer more than an opportunity every few years to put a mark on a ballot and have things no one ever mentioned rammed down our throats with absolutely zero say in the matter. You have lost your way. You need a good soul searching.

     Politics isn't sport. It doesn't matter who wins the game. What matters is the welfare of the people you are supposed to serve. Right now, it appears the system is terribly broken, and it has been getting worse over time. You owe it to us to pay heed to our needs, not your own, not your party, and certainly not mega corporations and their various mouthpieces.

     Get it together. Someone, somewhere, get it together, before the straw breaks the camel's back.

     

#ElectionFraud ~ Judicial Inquiry A Must

     I'm suffering a range of emotions right now. Unfortunately, they are all very bad.

     Now I am compelled, once again to take to this outpost, my blog, and discuss a subject, I feel, must be shared and discussed by everyone.

     Of course, I am talking about election fraud. As far as I am concerned, This is the number one issue that should be the main course on the plate of every right-thinking Canadian from coast to coast.

     While the Soup-du-Jour may be Senators at the trough, questionable payments, the involvement of the PMO, what the Prime Minister did or didn't know, alleged slush funds, and an endless parade of denials, conflicting explanations and likely outright lies, it is my sincere feeling if the Conservative Party of Canada feels this is being properly investigated, by all means, let us give them the opportunity to cooperate with any investigation, and when we get the results, let us make our decision whether we feel the findings answer our questions or if we must demand more.

     The reason I believe this is the proper position to take is because it doesn't abandon Canadians' desire to get to the answers about the entire Senate affair, it just moves it down a notch on the list, it uses the government's last opportunity to reveal all about what has happened, and allows every Canadian citizen and every politician of every stripe to concentrate on the most important issue Canada has ever faced.

     At this point in our history, we require an answer to the most fundamental question Canadian, North American, and even Western Democracy has ever faced:

     In 2011, did Canada have an election or suffer a bloodless coup?

     If you haven't been paying attention to politics (which is baffling to me since these are the people who write the laws that govern everything you do in your pseudo-free life), you can find plenty of information online regarding irregularities during the election of 2011. Most who have read my posts in the past know I make it clear I am not here to do research for you, I am not asking you to take my word for anything, only that your read what I say, approach it with an open mind, look into it yourself from as many sources as possible, and come to your own conclusions. I am merely here to give you something I strongly believe you should devote some time and thought to.

I am not here to assign blame to anyone. I am not going to say this is an evil plot hatched solely by one man to do evil. You'll be disappointed if that's what you are looking for. As always, my comments will remain open and I encourage dialogue here, don't be shy.

     We now know Elections Canada was in receipt of many complaints from the majority of ridings across Canada regarding calls trying to direct people away from their legitimate polls. It is also on record they informed Arthur Hamilton, lawyer for the Conservative Party of these complaints, prior to election day.

     It has been demonstrated, most notably in the Penashue case, and cases dating back to previous elections, the Conservatives have a great deal of difficulty in complying with the spending laws as laid out in the election act. This is troubling as it is becoming a pattern of behavior over the course of their government from their first win in 2006. We have a plea bargain resulting in guilty verdicts for the "In and Out" scheme.
We have two sitting MP's Shelly Glover and James Bezan who, according to the head of Elections Canada, Marc Mayrand, should be suspended and prevented from voting on legislation by law. The response to this has been the supposedly neutral Speaker-of-the-House Andrew Scheer, concealing receipt of these letters from the House of Commons until the media found out, further refusing to table the contents on the record in the House, and unilaterally ruling he will not enforce the law while the MP's in question challenge the ruling in court, even though he does not possess the power to suspend the penalty prescribed by the law of the land.

     Many people are confused by the robocall label, and rightly so. Robocalls were just a part of the goings on in the election of 2011. I'm not talking about mistakes here and there. I'm telling you, you can find, with very simple web searches articles from many news media sources, interviews with professors and officials and experts of all sorts that point to a single fact.

     In the  41st General Election of Canada, in 2011, Widespread Election Fraud Occurred, perpetrated by a person or persons unknown at this time.

     I don't say this because it is solely my opinion. In fact, although it has been my suspicion since the first reports of fake Elections Canada calls that a serious crime had been committed against all of us, and indeed, against democracy itself. In over half a century here, I never dreamed this would happen in my country. I would have dreamed this impossible, yet here I am staring at a glaring reality I must open eyes to, and I feel we deserve complete, open, answers to, and that we enact whatever must be enacted to ensure that democracy prevails, where no underhanded interference is practiced by anyone, and when those who would try to subvert the only true right we have are made to pay for what they have done, for anyone in the future who would attempt to seize power illegally.

     I will be absolutely clear on my position. I do not know who is or isn't guilty. I am not pointing my finger at a specific individual, group of individuals, any particular political party or organization. I am convinced by a preponderance of the evidence there was widespread election fraud, carried out through a variety of methods and means, in the election of 2011, and that is a crime against the freedom and democracy our veterans fought and died for. I believe every Canadian of every political stripe deserves to have every answer that can be rooted out, so no party, no matter who any of us may favour, can engage in activites that even remotely call into question the integrity of the very foundation of our society. I do not have faith in Elections Canada to be able to carry out the massive investigation needed to reveal all the wrongdoings during the 41st general election. I do not trust, therefore I do not have faith in the RCMP in its current state to investigate and be open and honest with the citizens of Canada the extent of crimes that have allegedly been committed during the 2011 election. I believe Canadians can settle for nothing less that a full judicial inquiry into all of the questions surrounding the election, including, but not limited to: the extent of fraudulent activity used in an attempt to deter citizens from exercising their right to vote, or using tactics to make an opposing candidate appear to be doing irrational or annoying activites aimed at voters in their ridings later proven to be false. The overspending by any candidate, successful or otherwise. Any other type of fraudulent or criminal behaviour that indicates a high degree of suspicion of tampering of the sort that leaves questions in the mind of Canadians as to the validity of the sitting government and whether any legislation they have passed is valid. In order to make these determinations, only a highly trusted Judge or panel of Judges with full powers of subopena, the power to question anyone without any possibility of claims of immunity or national security or any other reason whatsoever, and the power to fully oversee and control anyone tasked with investigating any aspect of election 2011.

     This is the number one reason I will push this and fight this and use everything legally in my power to make sure democracy is upheld in this country.

     This is my father's grave. Dad was a tail gunner in bombers in the RAF during world war two. He trained in Moncton, NB, where he met his future wife, my mother, who waited many years for him to come back to Canada. Dad was shot down twice in the war, from what I know, once supporting the British 8th Army over Africa, and again over Paris where he ended up with his legs full of anti-aircraft shrapnel (some of which he'd kept, you could sill see the rifling on it). He recovered to fight to the end of the war, won the Distinguished Flying Cross among other medals honouring his service. He eventually Emigrated to Canada, married my mother, had 3 boys and was an investigative reporter and editor of several papers until he passed away. Long before he should have because he believed in the principles of freedom and democracy and was prepared to give his life for them.

     Before my dad died, due to complications of the long term effects of his leg injuries (He had become paraplegic and quite frequently suffered from severe ulcers on his legs), he was often required to go to the veteran's unit at the hospital for treatment. It was on those occasions I got to hear the stories of many veterans. Some of whom were there occasionally, others who were there every time we went, those who would never leave alive. I also met several of my dad's friends, including a machine gunner who had some great medals, but no legs because an artillery shell landed between them. That man seemed cool to a little kid because he didn't use a wheelchair. He hopped out of a car on his hands and made his way into our home. I also had all of my uncles who fought the fascist domination of the world, and for what they believed was going to mean no one would need to die to defend our undying belief in freedom and democratic rule. I remember my dad's very good friend Max. I was young, I knew Max was some kind of important man, I had no idea dad's close friend and ally was no less than Max Aitken, known to history as Lord Beaverbrook and aside from being one of Churchill's closest people, he was a key to defeating Hitler himself.

     None of those mentioned above, nor do I, personally believe any allied soldier or all the citizens at home who made so many sacrifices, would have fought, worked, been damaged, lost family members, lost friends, or died fighting Adolf Hitler and Mussolini and their Fascism, or Hirohito's Imperialism, if they had believed their children and grandchild would be faced with questioning whether the democracy we owe to their bravery had been undermined enough to put in question whether the government in power won by honest means or if they used illegal methods to gain legislative power in the country. The exact same thing happened in the countries our relatives put their lives on the line to stop at all costs.

     I don't care what political party you support. If one party can do it, all parties can do it. Cheating may run rampant in games of all sorts, but democracy is not a game, it is the very cradle of the laws that govern the laws of all citizens. We cannot allow anyone, of any party, group, or organization of any sort to fix or even attempt to unduly influence the outcome of a democratic election.

     I could have written on this subject long ago, after all, there were various public court records, none of which inspired confidence the chance of election tampering was little more than a tempest in a teapot.

     I was still willing to wait this one out. It wasn't difficult to suspect there were some very different things about the conduct of the election, but it was also clear ever more mountainous obstacles were being dropped in front of the Elections Canada investigation as it plodded along, underfunded, seemingly frustrated and overwhelmed.

For me, and I believe, for you as well, everything changed and took at turn for the critically serious on the 23rd of May, 2013. On that date, The Honourable Mr. Justice Mosley of the Federal Court of Canada issued his 99 page ruling in a case regarding election fraud in a number of ridings in Canada during the 2011 election.

     I have read the entire judgement from front to back no less than 6 times since it was issued. I've also reviewed the final conclusions the judge makes carefully, thoroughly, and reached out to those with various legal expertise to ensure my opinions have some factual weight to them.

     I won't ask you to take my word for it, or even take my side in it. I will ask you to refer to the complete Federal Court ruling by clicking on this link to the PDF from the court website

     If you'd prefer to get past the summation of the case, and to just go to the findings made by Mr Justice Mosley, it begins by reading section V. the findings in the case

     No amount of money is bigger than a Canadian democratic election being run in such manner as to make a bloodless coup possible. Please consider what I present. Tell me we don't deserve answers, Tell me you are willing to allow widespread cheating without the guilty parties paying a serious price.

     Click on this link to take you to a contact list for all of Canada's MP's and Senators. Please write to any and all of them demanding a full judicial inquiry into the validity of the 2011 election. If you see an MP or leader tweet something please ask them to demand a judicial inquiry into election fraud.

     Duffy, Wallin, the Senate, the PMO, that can all get in line, after all, we need to find out if anything since 2011 has been legal.

     Demand answers. Spread this widely. Get the word out daily. Nothing is important as democracy itself.
Join me as I fight for our right to freely choose those who would rule us.

     Please feel free to comment. Join me in my fight. Ask questions. Agree. Disagree. Please get people talking and thinking about this today.
   

First Nation Knowledge #IdleNoMore

I wanted to share with you some of the most beautiful, emotional words ever put together.

This is a quote from Chief Seattle. This is what the racist trolls hate. Because they don't even bother to learn any history.

 "How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man --- all belong to the same family.

If we sell you the land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father. The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that the rivers are our brothers and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother.

And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow's flowers."

#IdleNoMore ~ Letter From a White Guy

#IdleNoMore has exploded on the twitterverse, so I thought, as a white guy, I'd write an open letter to anyone interested in #IdleNoMore and my own thoughts. I am not going to pretend I am an expert on the issues, just someone trying to understand and learn. Less so from the media, than by cultivating relationships with a wide range of indigenous peoples.

My life experiences and a mix of research and discussion have led me to support #IdleNoMore and I expect I will learn a lot more than even I could envision. At least I hope so.

I am not even going to pretend I have some kind of intellectual grasp of the many issues and challenges faced by First Nations in this country. I'm sure I am only scratching the surface, not because I don't want to know, but that the real truth of the history, treaties, abuses, and horrors lived every day by grassroots indigenous people are well hidden beneath centuries of lies and deceit, of deliberate attempts to eliminate the (please I find it disgusting to even repeat these words) "Native Problem", of governments and schools and media feeding the idea that our First Peoples were lazy and stupid and dirty and horrific, animal like beings who need to be exorcised from a civil society. It's difficult to try to find truth when so many are complicit in covering it up, and turning mainstream public opinion against people who did nothing but to welcome our ancestors and signed what they believed were honest treaties to share their bountiful resources with their new white friends.

They fought and died for us to be here, even before Canada was a nation. All we have done for them is cheated them out of their honest share of the resources of their nation which they have never given up their rights to it, never been defeated in a war, but we have screwed them, when we weren't attempting genocide by subjecting them to gifts of blankets infected with diseases they had no immunity to, we've been using up their resources as if we own them, and this doesn't even begin to address Residential Schools which existed in my lifetime. If you don't know what they are, do a bit of research. Better yet. Sit down, close your eyes, imagine the police coming and removing your children, taking them away to be beaten, raped, killed, and even tortured to remove their culture. Imagine your children being punished for speaking their own language. Now not even getting into conditions that exist today, has that ever happened to anyone in this country other than indigenous peoples? Absolutely Not. Attempted Genocide has only been a policy toward First Nations peoples in Canada. Whether you like it or not, if you don't admit that successive governments, in your name, have systematically been trying to eliminate native peoples and assimilate whatever is left, you have not yet faced reality.

I'm unsure exactly where #IdleNoMore got its start. That's not for me to debate. My understanding is it began as a movement to educate young First Nations people that they need to learn to embrace who they are, and to understand they have inherent treaty rights that it is important to know those rights. I've been told it was started by four ladies in Saskatchewan. I could be totally or partially wrong, I'm unsure, at least I'm trying to learn.

What I am positive of, is that is has become much more, and is growing. I understand Stephen Harper is the final straw that has broken the proverbial camel's back. It doesn't really matter which Prime Minister it was, this one, the last one, any previous one, our entire history is one of Canadian Government (and the British Crown before that) oppressing indigenous people in ways that, when exposed, should horrify any sane human being.

What I do want to say to the many showing leadership, and to the grassroots everyday person standing up for your rights, I apologize I have never been able to elect a government who would represent my personal wish to be an honest treaty partner with you. I am horrified at the ugly, racist, misinformed comments being hurled at you. I don't know what I can do, other than provide a voice of support, other than share my words with the world, and be there for you if you need me.

I'm not going to pretend to know your experience. I just want to make clear you know I can share one frustration with you. People we have put our trust in to lead us, have failed miserably. May we find our common goal and may you have unending strength in your struggle.

I am a white man. I am sick of my people getting ahead of everyone else because of a total lack of ethics.

THAT is why I support #IdleNoMore

Free Advice for @JustinTrudeau et al

     For the interested yet not-so-politically-savvy among those who may choose to read this, I feel compelled to explain, anyone who aspires to any kind of elected position depends upon advisers. The number of which depend heavily on the higher the office one seeks. No one does it alone. The more important role you seek, the more you lean on additional "experts" who provide (you hope) sound argument and good policy ideas that reinforce your own core values. This is your (I hate this term) "war room".

     The reason my headline includes Justin Trudeau is due to his entry into the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. I know Mr Trudeau has read one or more of my blog posts and has tweeted it to get feedback. I am not a member of any political party and have made no monetary donation to any party or campaign. That's the extent of disclosure I can offer, I'm prepared to wait for all comers to declare and at some point I will make it clear who I support, and why. Exactly what I did when the NDP were choosing a succsessor to Jack Layton. It's no secret I hoped the NDP would be led by Nathan Cullen. That didn't come to pass but we accept the honest choices of those involved.

     My point is, I don't concern myself as much who runs for what position in which party, this advice should be taken very seriously by any candidate for any party, or non partisan candidate running for any elected position, and with more urgency exponential to the power of the office they seek. In my lifetime I freely admit voting for Progressive Conservatives (The old kind, not the Tea Party Conservatives currently in power), Liberals, NDP, and Independent candidates in both provincial and federal elections. I am also very honest in that I support people who understand we are all human and sometimes people need help, some more than others, and especially someone willing to say publicly we are rich enough to do it. We ask ordinary Canadian citizens to hand over a far higher percentage of our overall income than we ask obscenely profitable corporations to help us provide them with secure, happy, healthy, well educated workers, willing to support the capitalist system by being better consumers. That basic premise applies to every candidate.

     Now back to the advisers. Among the army of lawyers and economists and image consultants, you should all ensure you employ someone like me. Just an ordinary Canadian. Someone who wasn't advantaged in life. A person who has faced adversity, who has been a contributing member of society, has followed the political and geopolitical world for a long time. Especially someone who is going to honestly tell you the unpopular things others seem unable to utter. Someone who will give you real, down to earth advice about what will give hope to people, rather than serving the market masters. I truly believe most people in public office become disconnected from the neighbourhoods of the nation, it would serve them well to have an "ordinary" person there to present the case for a very important special interest group, people, who have to work hard, those who don't make enough, or can't find enough work, or get sick, or just keep their family afloat.

My suggestion is you not look for an education less than graduation from the School of Hard Knocks.

For the right price, I'm available, but for the sake of this country, at the very least, find someone.

   

Geopolitics is about to Kill Your Children

*****PLEASE NOTE, I WROTE THIS IN JUNE, 2011 AND NEVER GOT TO FINISH. HOW DO YOU LIKE IT TODAY? *****

     Don't be stupid. Don't be naive. Be aware. If you live in Canada, the US, the UK, Israel, and certainly any NATO country, I want you to read this, share this, and talk about this. I generally will not engage in making predictions, and don't consider this to be a prediction.

     That said, I present for your consideration what I believe will come to pass, sooner than you think. As always, you are free to come to your own conclusions, my goal is always to provoke thought. I appreciate comments for and against, you don't even need to leave your name.

     Looking at big pictures can be difficult when you live in a world of instant gratification. When we are training our societies to have the attention span of a gnat, people no longer want to put two and two together, they're fine with just the two.

     Let's just get where we're going. Iran.

     Sooner rather than later we're going to war with Iran. This is not an if. It's going to happen, and sooner than I'd earlier thought. Sometimes entirely predictable geopolitical events can change course or timing, in this case, it's the timing. If you have kids in, considering joining, or nearing service age in Canada, the US, the UK and whatever NATO countries are browbeat into it, expect an Iran war and expect it to make Iraq I & II and Afghanistan look like practice. Which they were.

     We aren't going to start a war with Iran. This would be far too problematic. Iran isn't going to start a war with us, they're not insane. Neither of those things matter. Ready or not, here we go.

     It's not like this should come as a big surprise to anyone, however, it will be a big surprise to a lot of people for some reason. I find it hard to understand how so many people can know who all the celebrities are and when the last time they had a bowel movement yet care to know almost nothing about the serious things that actually affect their lives, but that's another rant for another time.

     We've seen the groundwork being laid for many years. The premise of the war was laid many years ago, but these things take time. Iraq I was about the invasion of Kuwait. It remains suspect that Saddam Hussein would invade Kuwait without some indication from the US there wouldn't really be a problem, after all, he was a strong ally of the US who armed him up to be the 5th largest active military in the world at the time. He was useful, he was a foil to Iran. No one cared that he was gassing the Kurds, they were a thorn in the side of Turkey and we would rather have Turkey on our side so it was geopolitically correct. It became an issue at that point because Saddam had passed his best before date. Oddly, the elder Bush somehow had the good sense to realize it sets a bad precedent to invade a country and kill the leader. This is the biggest of all geopolitical no-nos. Somewhere along the line, America lost that sober second thought. Possibly because Bush I was under a lot of pressure to "get" Saddam, to "finish" the job. When he realized he would be crossing a line that could have serious consequences globally, he had the fortitude to say no.

     This left the US with a couple of problems, a bit of a sticky wicket as it were. Number one, it wasn't well thought out because no one had an alternate plan in case Bush I did what he did, refuse to participate in regime change. Now they were stuck with Saddam at the helm and there was a great likelihood he could start telling stories that might cause some problems at home. There also was the probability he would now align himself against American interests. Problem number two? Belligerent Iran, the problem child. No one with that much oil is allowed to be so anti-American, why, it's un-American of them!!

     Since a military option would not be likely under President Clinton, the machine knew it had to bide its time and wait for a more likely President to take power. So the PR army moves in, suddenly, we regularly hear the two central themes in setting the table for things to come. For Iraq, evil dictator Saddam Hussein was developing "Weapons of Mass Destruction". Iran got the big prize, the "Going Nuclear" award. At any moment, it seemed, Iran could have a nuclear capability that could threaten the entire free world. During Bill Clinton's time in office these themes were widely spread by pundits and various low level talking heads, which led to a great reinforcement in the public mind that the "Axis of Evil" was the greatest threat since the invention of air.

     8 Years of Clinton gave them far more time than they needed to create the new reality. Every day someone, somewhere was discussing the chosen themes. While widely convincing the western populace of the menace we were facing, military planners and the intelligence community worked on a big piece of the overall goal of control of oil. Regime change in Iraq, and control of Iraqi oil. Then the big fish, Iran.

     Enter Bush II (the stupider one), the table was already set, all they needed to do was invite George over for dinner. They did. He ate heartily.

     That they crossed the boundary and launched an undeclared war leading to the hanging of a foreign head of state will surely come back to haunt us at some point, and what will our defense to it be? Do as we say, not as we do? In the process of ridding the world of one "problematic" person, thousands of American and British service men and women died, and civilian and "other" casualties were many times more. The goal of regime change came early, but control of oil takes time, money, and dead bodies, lots and lots of expendable people. When you add the injured, the seriously injured, the mentally destroyed, the numbers are staggering. Along the way came 9/11 and the NATO (which almost always means the US-UK-Canada triumvirate "supported" by various others) response in Afghanistan. Again, the number of lives destroyed far outweighs any sane response to a terrible terrorist attack that killed roughly 3000 global citizens (a great number were foreign nationals), as terrible as it was, the resulting misery caused is more than overkill. The second world war ended in 6 years. The first world war was over in 5.

     We've since had it revealed (far too late) the "weapons of mass destruction" was just a dream scene like all those tv shows. Osama Bin Laden is dead and people are questioning what we're doing in Afghanistan, so we're slipping out the door like a decade of death doesn't much matter anymore, because, in the no-hearted world of geopolitics, it doesn't. A major goal has been achieved that has nothing to do with Bin Laden or Hussein. It has everything to do with Iran.

     If you don't follow the connection, allow me to enlighten you.
   

     Politics is confusing to a lot of people. When you begin to immerse yourself into the geopolitical, the number of people who can actually take in these complex interactions between and among countries of similar and opposite interests narrows even further. Most people, whether they know it or not, have at the very least, a rudimentary knowledge of geopolitics. Most know no country is an island, we must deal with other countries for trade, for security, for travel, for all sorts of interesting and uninteresting things. People understand we have countries that are friends and allies, and other countries we have some level of disagreement with. Beyond that, the relationships and things done behind the scenes are immensely complicated and fraught with twists and turns, and a whole lot of ugly things go on that you could live a lifetime and never dream of, yet these things happen as a matter of course on a daily basis.

     In geopolitics, you don't have to wait for elections. You're usually too busy with conflicts. Where they are, where they're going, how big they are, the chance of spreading, where the trouble spots are, what potential issues may not be resolved with words or threats or bribes, not to mention also trying to determine where the ambitions of countries and/or groups of countries will lead them. Whew. It's fascinating, frustrating, and sometimes frightening, but it's important to have people who take the time to watch and talk about these bigger issues.

     Most of the people of my generation were lucky enough to have lived most of our lives without war. Of course, the big change for us came with the TV war, Viet Nam. It wasn't much less horrific for those of us watching from outside the US. This was the first "proxy" war where the great powers actually got drawn in. It could have been far more dangerous than it was had it ever escalated to the point where US and Soviet troops had actually had to engage one another. Russia had their own comeuppance in Afghanistan when the US armed Osama Bin Laden & company who routed the Russian Bear. Payback, geopolitics-style. The good ending for America was short lived, but that's the chance you take in the shady world of world domination.

     A few recent events have led to my wanting to write this piece now. Since a lot of geopolitics has to depend on educated guesses, sometimes you can feel relatively certain events are leading in a clear path and something upsets the apple cart. Lately, a lot of things are upsetting the cart, so it may be timely to have you thinking about this.

     War. Again. Iran.

     If I were amongst those in a position of great military power it's not a huge stretch to imagine the favorable conditions for the conflict are coming into place, albeit slightly quicker than thought, for regime change (the spurious term used to cover up the goal of controlling oil nations) in Iran. Years ago I wondered why we lingered, militarily, in Iraq and Afghanistan, then, suddenly, troop drawdowns & withdrawal were all the rage. I know I should have made this link years ago but I have a lot of things to think about.

     We have now created a generation of battle hardened desert fighters.

     This post became even more relevant today, September 8th, 2012, due to the actions of my country, Canada. comments welcome.