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"Victory will never be found by taking the line of least resistance."
Winston Churchill
If people no longer expect objectivity from their political and legal systems, then all justice will be reduced to a power struggle between conflicting and irreconcilable perspectives, a struggle in which the most dominant and pervasive bias will replace fair and impartial process as the character of justice. But if objectivity in law and politics is everywhere supplanted by conflict between subjective interests, then the side of economic privilege and established authority will always retain dominance. A society in which people no longer expect representatives of its major institutions even to attempt to render objectivity in their professional demeanours is a society whose major institutions are in a crisis of ethical legitimacy. In such a society, there is wide spread cynicism regarding the possibility of fair political process because it seems impossible that impartial, unbiased dispositions could exist to enact such processes.
Robert Nicholls
Language and Logic
Showing posts with label government corruption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government corruption. Show all posts
Philosophy is the anti-thesis of
ideology. The true philosopher has no pride, no sense of self. The
philosopher is king and always will be, as the conceptual limits of
our world are often set by men who have been dead for hundreds or
thousands of years. The mighty emperor is governed by his ability to
perceive the world around him, and his perception is informed by the
will and words of the philosopher.
In Egypt, the birthplace of
civilization, we witness an illustration of contrast that hopefully
will give birth to new understanding. We must first suspend judgement
if we are to understand.
There are two opposing forces vying for
control of Egypt. Backers of the establishment of an Islamic state
believe that man should be governed by Gods will as interpreted by
the Koran. Backers of the establishment of a constitutional democracy
believe that it is gods will that man should be governed by reason.
This distinction is crucial to
understanding what democracy is. Democracy is not about the
imposition of Karl Marx, Milton Friedman, or any other version of
God. Democracy is rule by reason, rule by philosophy. Democracy is
not a dictatorship of the proletariat. Democracy is not a
dictatorship of the market. Democracy is not a dictatorship of the
Koran. Democracy is not about self it is about truth.
The two faces of ego are ideology and
greed. These are manifested when men seek control of the state to
impose what they believe without the support of reason, and when men
seek control of the state to accumulate wealth and power as an end in
and of itself. A cynic would say that the two faces of ego are the
only paths history will take, but there is a third way out and its
democracy.
Democracy is when people come together
and solve issues based on reason. The central word here is reason.
Decision making is not allocated based on social status, money, or
party monopoly. The objective of democracy is not to “win” what
you want or to crush your “opponent”. In a pure democracy you
have no opposition and there are no winners or losers. In a pure
democracy all you have is people working together. That doesn't mean
they will always agree on everything it just means that they will
approach governance from the perspective that it is not about them.
The fundamental misunderstanding of the
Chinese Communists is the perception that reason is just a tool of
power. In their mind everything is war, a political struggle for
ideological dominance. They will spend considerable resources
constructing ideological arguments in order to manufacture
perceptions that advance their interests. Truth can not be
manufactured, only perceptions. True reason will stand alone apart
from interest.
How ought we as human souls reconcile
the truth of our connection? Democracy is the answer to this
question. It conceptually nurtures compassion and starves ego. Our
duty is to recognize the others as we would ourselves and pursue the
public interest based on informed and well reasoned dialogue. The
failure of modern liberal states in a global context is not a failure
of democracy, it is an example of what happens when people forget
what democracy is.
If we are to look to God for answers we
should look to him as the original financial advisor. When Jesus
Christ said love one another, he implicitly said that if we do not
follow that commandment than we will all end up poor, dead or both.
Without people there is no wealth, it is a concept within us. If
people do not follow the financial advise of God there will be
poverty and social problems. Loyalty to your wife and family, respect
for others, forgiveness and compassion are the recipe for a better
society. God should be a cultural compass that leads to comprehensive
wealth, not a system of governance.
As a rejection of ego, democracy is the
only option we have that respects people and principal above ideology
and greed.
Democracy is the next evolutionary step
in human awareness, but there is no guarantee that human society will
progress. Democracy is a seedling threatened from all sides by the
weeds of selfishness. Totalitarianism lives, and so long as it does
it plots to stamp out any alternative to it's authority.
We must defend democracy from the well
organized infiltration of communist totalitarian forces enabled by a
corrupt and incompetent capitalist class. Our freedom will only be
preserved by the actions of brave souls who take it upon themselves
to carry the legacy of our forefathers. The people will be preserved
and strengthened within the house of the lord. Amen.
Democracy is, as Winston Churchill once quipped, the worst system of government, except all the others that have been tried.
He
also, less famously said, “The best argument against democracy is a
five minute conversation with the average voter,” but I don’t think the
average voter is our problem in Canada. And I do think we’ve got a
problem.
The symptoms of the problem are easy to spot — low voter
turnout, with worryingly low levels among young people with no sign they
will start voting once they are over 30, a less than vital Fourth
Estate, undermined by an alarming level of concentration of media
ownership in very few hands, public apathy, indifference bordering on
antipathy toward the whole process, excessive power in the hands of the
few (or the one, since I refer to PMO), a loss of respect for the
fundamental principle of the supremacy of Parliament, misuse of the
talents of Members of Parliament of the large parties as MPs are
expected to toe the party line on every issue, big and small, and its
flip-side, excessive control by the un-elected top party brass in all
three main parties.
Add to this, that the average voter in Canada —
if anyone can be called “average” — is incensed by the goings on
related to the excessive claims of certain Senators and the outrageous
accommodation for Senator Duffy by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff
cutting him a cheque for $90,000 so he could make it seem he had
personally paid back what he took through inappropriate means. The fact
of a $90,000 cheque from the Prime Minister’s top ranking staff member
and closest confidante remains just simply stunning. It was, on its
face, illegal. It makes no sense and no sensible explanation has been
offered.
So, what could we change to restore the kind of healthy
democracy that would re-engage voters, stop the growth in public
cynicism and give Canadians a system — and individual politicians –they
could believe in?
Here’s a short prescription for what ails our democracy:
Get
rid of “first past the post” and elect MPs, as is done in most modern
democracies, by some form of proportional representation. Make sure
every vote counts so voters feel the impact of their vote. Thanks to
first past the post, in 2011, a minority of voters elected a majority
government. Such “false majorities,” as University of Toronto Prof.
Emeritus Peter Russell has dubbed them, have occurred for Liberals as
well as Progressive Conservative and now Conservative governments. Such
results are only possible due to First past the post.
Reduce the
powers of the Prime Minister’s Office — regardless of who is the
occupant. It is an invention, not mentioned in our Constitution. Its
powers and budget are unchecked and unaccountable. It is now at $10
million/year. Cut it in half to $5 million…or cut it more. Its total
power in times of majority Parliament is anti-democratic, especially in a
situation of a “false majority.” Cut the power of PMO. Restore a
healthier Cabinet system of government.
Restore a respected,
professional civil service. Return to evidence-based decision making.
Rebuild the wall between the PMO and the PCO (Privy Council Office).
Only under PM Harper have the political operatives in PMO run roughshod
over the civil service, contaminating government information with
partisan spin. This must be stopped.
Pass legislation that deals
with concentration of media ownership to encourage the rebirth of local
journalism and reduce the powers of a handful of owners (our current
legislation dealing with competition in the news media fails to deal
with this issue and only addresses issues of the price of media
products.)
Restore respect for the supremacy of Parliament.
Ensure that the control of the public purse is restored to Parliament,
where it belongs.
Remove the power of leaders of federal parties
to sign the nomination forms for their party’s candidates. Allow the
caucus members of parties the right to trigger leadership reviews.
Senate
reform — open conversations and negotiations with provinces. Is
abolition possible? Could a council of the federation with more
effective representation from municipalities, provinces and territories
bring something useful to Parliament?
And perhaps most important
of all — re-assert the constitutional requirement that MPs are elected
to represent their constituents, not to be mere ciphers of the back-room
hyper-partisan spin doctors who call the shots.
Bring
back Westminster parliamentary democracy. All our rules say we have one;
only our political habits tell us we are moving toward an elected
dictatorship. This prescription to restore and heal democracy can only
be filled when the citizens of Canada demand it.
Canada Day 2013 is a good time to start.
Originally published in the Huffington Post.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'No more beards!' Egypt celebrates arrest of Muslim Brotherhood leader as army hunts THREE HUNDRED followers of deposed president Morsi
^The military in this instance has acted in defense of democracy. No corrupt political party should be allowed to wield too much power over the people. Political parties are anti-democratic in that they are small groups of organized conspirators who seek to impose their absolute power. Democracy is not about going out to vote for a new dictator every few years, it is a process that is meant to happen all the time. The military and associated security apparatus has a role, it must protect a nation from the corruption of weak "leaders". Take the rise of Hitler as a prime example of how politicians can cause real damage to democratic societies. Hitler was democratically elected but after election he proceeded to dismantle German democracy and violate the human rights of German citizens. The German military should have intervened in the 1930's to protect German democracy. There were plans among the officers to do just that but unfortunately none succeeded. The point is that democracy is not just about elections, it is a process, a state of existence that respects people. My concern is that people from countries without cultural knowledge of what democracy is must have many misconceptions about what it looks like. Even in countries with strong democratic traditions much of the population is unaware of the philosophical origins of the modern world. If you set up a system where a radical segment of the population imposes their agenda on everyone else, that is not democracy. Even if you hold a vote every few years, the winners of the vote still must respect everyone's rights. Democracy is not meant to be about winning power over others, it is about bringing everyone together and finding solutions. I am disgusted that the competing mainstream parties take every opportunity to spout off spin and talking points every time they are granted access to the media. They are all fighting over the opportunity to form a "majority" so they can impose the agendas of their backers. The constant partisan messaging is an exhibition the profound immaturity and ignorance of our politicians. This is in sharp contrast to our brave members of the military who volunteer to risk their lives in service to god and country. I trust our generals more than I do our emperors. Men of honour in the tradition of Roméo Antonius Dallaire and Maximus Decimus Meridius are more trustworthy than most politicians. Just because someone "wins" an "election" it does not mean they are acting democratically or that democracy is healthy and on the right track. Some states have ruling political parties that control the media and arrest dissenters. Some states have ruling corporations and business elites who dominate the political process with money. Just because a vote occurs, it does not necessarily mean that democracy is happening. Democracy is more like a goal on the horizon that we continually chart a course for through reform and reconciliation. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot to be grateful for, our politicians are much better that the thugs of the completely corrupt and evil Chinese Communist party, but there are systemic and cultural issues that need to be resolved if we are to have any hope of dealing with the deteriorating economic and security conditions. We need leaders to put aside themselves, to put aside all sense of self. We must transcend crisis, history, and division to accomplish the preservation of our ideals. Hear me, I am speaking to you. You must make the dream a reality. You, in whatever capacity you serve, must do everything within your power to build our future. You must transcend your"self", and make "us" possible.
" Li gives a sobering response: “Psychological warfare, legal warfare, and public opinion warfare are all important tools for modern warfighting. Doing battle on microblogs is also within the ‘three warfares’ category.” "
" The Chinese Communist Party is known to carry out an intensive and intricate policy of Internet surveillance and censorship; as well as deleting posts, the regime also hires an untold number of online commentators, called the “50 cent party,” (for the amount they’re putatively paid per post) whose job it is to steer public opinion. "
Communist Party members seem to be suffering a mental illness. Why do communist party members insist on trying to impose totalitarianism on the globe? So much effort to load every comment board with communist propaganda all because they are so determined to try and control public opinion, all so they can impose a system of dictatorship that will only lead to more human suffering.
Message to communist party thugs, nothing good will come of being an extremist, nothing good will come of trying to eliminate your "opposition". If you were enlightened you would understand that the members of the community that disagree with you are not your enemy. Constitutionally protected human rights and democratic governance are social innovations that create tremendous value for society. When you abandon totalitarianism you allow intellectuals to contribute to the betterment of us all.
If people like Hitler, Stalin and Mao had not embraced such madness, think of how much better we would all be better off today. What is the point of all this? What do these madmen hope to accomplish? Where do we want to be as a world? I'm willing to bet most of us, down at the peasant level, want to love one another. How can that be accomplished if the communist party policy is to put so many resources into stamping out dissent? Why resist constitutionally protected human rights for all citizens? If you want to serve the people then you must end the violence against the people, and this can only be accomplished if they have human rights protected by the constitution? This is not a "Western idea", its just an idea. An idea can not be assigned an identity. To deny an idea based upon the "identity" of the creator is the definition of insanity.
If you want to serve the people, you must become a better human being.
End political repression now. Tear down this wall.
The cost of lost human potential is the price of political repression.
I don't like this brave new world any more than you do, but the reality is if America would disarm its Signals Intelligence it would not make a dam difference for your privacy since China would still be running its own versions of "PRISM". This capability is a lot like nuclear weapons, if one party unilaterally disarms it only creates incentive for conflict to occur.
If Edward Snowden really wanted to protect us from an architecture of oppression why would he defect to Communist China? This looks like a carefully orchestrated phy-op.
Why defect to a completely controlled police state so you can lecture the world on police states?
Of course the privacy issues raised by Snowden are fair comment in a democratic society, but this entire scenario looks completely staged.
Signals intelligence, with proper checks and balances, is a tool that could be used for good or evil.
These are strange times, the world needs good people, so do all you can to make it good.
While America badly needs reform, Americans still have a lot of freedom that people in China don't have. It just doesn't seem to promote the cause of freedom for Snowden to become a propaganda instrument of the Chinese regime. The Snowden case looks like a highly successful and well thought out/carefully planned "public opinion warfare" operation.
Chen Guangcheng says China Pressured NYU to Kick Him Out
"Specifically, they are to notify a liaison office that co-ordinates RCMP strategy with the office of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews."
"It's not appropriate for the government to reach into the police operation. It's a very, very fundamental part of what we must be assured exists so that the police aren't doing the work of the government, they're doing the work of the public."
" Garrison, who is the NDP critic for public safety, said "these memos raise some very serious concerns about whether the government is interfering in the operations of the RCMP to try and assist in controlling their political message. So I think it's very serious." "
"Non-partisan federal appointment conflicts with role as director for conservative think tank"
"Duncan then asked whether the Canada Revenue Agency would investigate the political activities of the Manning Centre, which is a federally registered non-profit organization, although it does not issue any tax receipts and is not a registered charity."
Government Response:
"That would be unlawful, and it would be inappropriate, and it's bizarre that the NDP would suggest it," said Kenney, who repesents a Calgary riding.
The government makes a response that it would be unlawful to investigate the political nature of a non-profit organization that is organized to funnel industry money into training loyal conservative party goons, just after it spend $8 million taxpayer dollars investigating environmental charities for their alleged political activities.
" In its own words, the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, which runs a
"state of the art training centre" in downtown Calgary, is "dedicated
to building Canada’s conservative movement– by strengthening the
knowledge, skills, ethical foundations, and networks of political
practitioners." "
^Read: Organization Training Harpers Brownshirts deemed non-political by government What about the Government using the CRA against David Suzuki:
"David Suzuki says he finally feels free to speak his mind since stepping down six months ago as a director of his namesake environmental charity, which he founded more than 20 years ago."
" “It’s very demoralizing, because so much of that resource then is dedicated to that process, and the last time we were audited I think it cost over $100,000 of our money to do that, so it’s a very expensive, punitive thing that can be done,” he said. "
"An $8-million pot of money included in last year’s federal budget to
crack down on charities suspected of engaging in “excessive” political
activities has so far resulted in only one having its charitable status
revoked, out of nearly 900 that were audited."
"Environmental charities were widely reported to be the primary target of ramped up compliance measures after Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said
environmental and other “radical groups” were trying to undermine the
national economy by blocking pipeline and other fossil fuel projects." CRA audits charitable status of Tides Canada amid Tory attack
"The charity – which had revenues of $14.5-million in 2010 – has two main funding arms. Tides Foundation finances other charities ranging from Big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations to Environmental Defence Canada, and Tides Initiatives does its educational, social and environmental work."
"Environment Minister Peter Kent raised the stakes last week when he accused an unnamed group of essentially engaging in “money laundering,” echoing attacks against Tides launched by Conservative senators and the pro-oil-industry, Conservative-connected group, EthicalOil.org."
"In the March budget, the Harper government ordered the CRA to step up
its efforts on education and compliance with charities that engage in
political activity.The government said then that it was responding to concerns that some charities may not be respecting the rules, and that it also intended to increase the reporting rules for charities that take
money from foreign donors."
"The David Suzuki Foundation on Tuesday became the target of a complaint to the Canada Revenue Agency, just days after its namesake co-founder stepped down amid heightened tensions between environmental charities and the Conservative government."
"A week before, David Suzuki stepped down from the foundation he helped create so he can “speak freely without fear” his words will be deemed too political, according to an open letter posted to the group’s website last week."
"Mr. Ellerton said that organizations should forgo charitable status — and all the economic benefits it brings — if they want the freedom to be political." Battle for Free-speech in Parliament rages
“Corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. ... [T]hey are not themselves members of ‘We the People’ by whom and for whom our Constitution was established.”
John Paul Stevens, the retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice who authored the words above as part of his dissenting opinion in the infamous Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case.
Democracy Is For People Amendment
Constitutional amendment proposal to end unlimited and undisclosed corporate financing of
American elections.
For America, Decline is a Choice
“In reality, decline is not a foregone conclusion but a deliberate political choice that builds from a failure to define what matters most to the nation.”
'The China Dream' = Worlds Nightmare
" In February’s official journal of the Communist Party Central Committee, an article from the People’s Liberation Army’s General Staff stated: [W]hat determines the political and economic pattern of the world . . . ultimately depends on force.”
That proclamation takes Mao Zedong’s approach to domestic governance and extends it to international relations: “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” What we are seeing is the militarization of China’s much-touted “peaceful rise” and the end of Deng Xiaoping’s approach: “Hide your capabilities; bide your time.” "
“Your concern is not only helpful to victims in China, but it’s about us rallying together and safeguarding the values of mankind. When these values are recognized by all, only then is it a society in which everyone can live at ease.”
"WE STAND TOGETHER" are First Nations and Canadians supporting each other in a First Nations legal challenge against the Canada China FIPA. Through your donations, we will work to protect the rights of all Canadians. http://www.westandtogether.ca/
UN World Water Day: Canada’s Water at Risk "Since then, the situation has grown worse with the "Conservatives’" aggressive promotion of the extraction industries, leading to the end of credible environmental assessments, the gutting of the Fisheries Act, and the virtual elimination of the Navigable Waters Protection Act (to push through communist pipelines) – which leaves the great majority of our lakes and rivers vulnerable to development."
Servers in Canada linked to FinFisher spyware program "The discovery of FinFisher servers in countries run by authoritarian governments — such as Turkmenistan and Ethiopia — have raised further questions about the company's practices."
How New ACTA Internet Lockdown Measures Are Coming to Canada "The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), once believed dead, is back from beyond the grave, and could criminalize and otherwise restrict your use of the Internet by overwriting our copyright rules."
Let's come up with a plan to stop international agreements from restricting Internet freedom "New Internet restrictions are currently being developed through multiple international "trade" agreements that could significantly restrict and potentially even criminalize your everyday use of the Internet. We know from past campaigns that we win when the Internet community reaches out and engages a critical mass of citizens in the cause."
OTTAWA – With ratification of the Canada-China Investment Treaty still pending, the Green Party of Canada underscores India’s decision to move away from bilateral investment protection agreements and their investor/state dispute system.
After facing the threat of international arbitration from foreign companies, India has ordered in January 2013 a freeze of all bilateral investment protection agreements negotiations until a governmental review is carried out and completed. Although news of India's decision has not been mentioned in the Canadian media, the decision is clearly relevant.
“In November 2012, Prime Minister Harper told me in the House of Commons that the Indian Prime Minister was committed to signing a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement with Canada. I think Canada should take good note of India’s freeze on all investment protection agreements,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands.
“The investor/state dispute system contained in investment agreements allows foreign companies to sue Canada outside of Canadian courts. Special arbitrators would take the decisions; their decision cannot be subject to judicial review. And the arbitrations are to be secret. Even the fact they are happening is to be secret,” said May.
“India is joining nations such as Australia and South Africa in saying ‘no’ to investor/state provisions. It’s time for Canada to also turn the page on this out-of-date and undemocratic international trade model,” said May.
Tightening the grip: muzzling of scientists ramps up in Canada
Back in October 2011, I wrote in Island Tides about the muzzling of DFO scientists. The scientist in question, Dr Kristi Miller, had achieved levels of scientific respect as her work on viruses linked to salmon aquaculture operations had been published in the internationally prestigious journal Science. When Science attempted to arrange media interviews with Dr Miller, the Privy Council Office ordered her to refuse.
It seems that the public outcry over that event, and others including ozone scientists at Environment Canada, led the Prime Minister’s Office to decide the contractual arrangements with scientists were too lax. As of February 1 this year, new rules were put in place requiring all scientists working on projects in conjunction with DFO in the Central and Arctic Region to treat all information as proprietary to DFO, and—worse—await departmental approval before submitting research to any scientific journals.
The story was broken by veteran journalist Michael Harris, in the online journal iPolitics. Harris has been one of the few journalists willing to dig into the pervasive repression, slashing of science and rejection of evidence based decision-making in Harper’s Ottawa.
The reaction from DFO was swift. It posted this attack on its website:
‘The iPolitics story by Michael Harris published on February 7th, 2013 is untrue. There have been no changes to the Department’s publication policy.’
Harris recounts that he was stunned. He had verified the change with several scientists, external to DFO. He called Dr Jeff Hutchings at Dalhousie University who re-confirmed the changes. Then Harris received support from an unexpected source—an anonymous DFO scientist posted the email from Michelle Wheatley, the Central and Arctic science director, sent out to detail the new publication policy.
The anonymous scientist wrote, ‘Here is the e-mail I got from my division manager on January 29, 2013: ‘Subject: New Publication Review Committee (PRC) Procedures for C&A Science …’. The email was reproduced in full, and began, ‘This message is regarding the new Publication Review Committee procedures for C&A Science…’
The email noted that the new policy was to take effect on February 1, 2013. The anonymous scientist concluded: ‘You decide who’s being untruthful.’
A few days after DFO tried to deny that there were any changes, the Vancouver Sun broke the story of a US scientist, doing collaborative work with DFO, who is refusing to sign the new conditions. Calling it a ‘potential muzzle,’ Dr Andreas Muenchow, of the University of Delaware told the Sun, ‘I’m not signing it.’ Muenchow has been working on a project with DFO scientists in the Eastern Arctic since 2003.
In 2003, when the collaborative research project began, there were quite different rules about sharing data: ‘Data and any other project-related information shall be freely available to all Parties to this Agreement and may be used, disseminated or published, at any time.’
Within days of February 1st’s new publication policy, on February 7, came another DFO email to scientists: now they must obtain prior consent before applying for research grants.
You can see where this is going. It is not enough to muzzle scientists like Dr Miller when their research is published. The tightening of control over science must be established far earlier in the process. Stop the research from being submitted to journals. Stop the scientists from collaborating with others. Stop scientists from applying for research grants. Stop science from happening at all.
The elimination of whole branches of scientific work within the federal government, the slashing of governmental funds for science, and now a departmental veto on applying for research grants or submitting results to peer reviewed journals fits in the larger systemic dismantling of any aspect of governmental activities that could throw doubt on the wisdom of pressing for rapid expansion of fossil fuel exploitation.
‘Chilling’ is one word, but it does not seem adequate to this development. This is the 21st Century equivalent of the Dark Ages. This is book burning and superstition run rampant. This is the administration of a steady, slow drip of poison to a weakening democracy.
"U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Congressman Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) have introduced a powerful constitutional amendment that would prevent corporations from spending to influence elections and would enable to government to regulate campaign spending from individuals."
New ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ Gives Monsanto Power Over US Government "Monsanto is at war once again against health conscious consumers with the latest ‘Monsanto Protection Act‘, managing to sneak wording into the latest Senate legislation that would give them blanket immunity from any USDA action regarding the potential dangers of their genetically modified creations while under review."
Ruins of Detroit. Once the engine of middle class prosperity
Why the West is in Decline.
(A)
1. The failure of civilizations is a failure of leadership.
2. Our civilization has failed as evidenced by its wealth
being used to build up rivals. Rivals buy control of what used to belong to us with
wealth we outsourced to them.
3. Therefore, our selection process does not produce capable
leaders.
(B)
1. Economic power currently buys political power.
2. Economic power does not = leadership skill.
3. Economic power does not = representation of the
national interest.
4. Economic power does not care about national
security or sovereignty.
(C)
1. Just as there was a separation of Church and State, there
now must be a separation of Economic power from Political power.
2. Economic Inequality is much less corrosive to society than
Political Inequality.
3. We are facing a crisis that requires the power of the
national mind to be harnessed in order to generate as many solutions as
possible.
4. Currently, only economic power is allowed representation
in politics, to the exclusion of the people. This monopoly on power must be
broken.
5. Therefore, money must be removed from politics. Electoral
systems must be reformed to regulate the influence of established political
parties and eliminate the infrastructure of their campaign war machines. Voting
systems should be amended to offer the people real opportunity to participate.
Elections should be about ideas, not money.
6. Political parties are a great threat to national security;
they put their own interest above that of the nation. We must always be on
guard against the political-industrial complex; the potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
The decline of the West is systemic. It is not in any one failed
policy or leader but a result of an evolved form of organization that has led
to a state of constant failure and an inability to adapt to a changing external
environment.
If you are living in the West chances are you live under the
control of two or more dominant political parties. The existence of more than
one party provides you with some protection from human rights abuse because if
one party goes to far in its abuse of the people the other party will win the
next election. While better than living under one party control, this is still
not an ideal system and is not what true democracy looks like.
Political parties are machines that run on money whose
objective is to win elections. Messages are tightly controlled, photo-ops
carefully choreographed, talking points annoyingly repeated. Entire staffs are
hired to develop marketing plans designed to strategize what segments of the
market are to be targeted at what time and with what message. The entire
political process has become dehumanized. Politics has become big business most
likely due to the fact that the cogs who currently occupy the machine share the
same trained incapacities of a modern business “education”.
Brand names win elections not ideas. In these modern times
no one wins after an election has been held. No one but the powerful interests
behind the major political parties and the well-paid shills who occupy the
seats once designated for representatives of the people.
Is it any wonder why no one shows up to vote, why no one
gets involved? Many know full well how the system works and what reasonable
person would want to commit their life to towing the party line. It takes a
certain breed of arrogance and incompetence to suckle at the public trough as a
career backbencher. It takes another breed of psychopathy to steal from the
public as an unelected senator.
They have made the cynical calculation that the people don’t
care. That the majority have fallen for the cult of the self and worship
materialism, the god of distraction. You must prove them wrong. The public
interest will only ever be defended by the public. Therefore, any political
system that hopes to serve the public interest must not exclude the great
majority of its citizens from participation in the political process.
Political equality is the great equalizer. If we could enact
reforms that would break the monopoly of power held by the established parties,
then each locality would be free to elect local representatives based on the
ideas of the individual candidates. Those representatives would not be
constrained by the dictates of the parties. They would be free to actually
represent their constituents.
The campaign would not be fought by wealthy organizations in
30-second substance-less ads on national television; it would be fought in the
webpages of official party policy documents and in local debates and local
speeches among local citizens. The campaign would not be a battle for control
of territory but a conversation among neighbors who are concerned about the
issues facing them.
The objective would not be party victory; it would be
national victory.
The objective would not be party victory; it would be national victory.
The problem we face in modern democracy is a lack of choice.
We have major parties that operate within the rigid framework of the modern political-industrial
complex. This constrains our decision making process and limits our potential
policy options.
Not every citizen has access to a national campaign
organization and a state of the art voter database. Does the existence of those
privileges justify the monopoly on power enjoyed by those who poses them?
This state of affairs is bringing about our long-term
national suicide.
All because those with privilege put the preservation of
privilege above the preservation of the nation. This is the definition of
globalism; loyalty to wealth, status, and private business venture over loyalty
to the continued existence of your sovereign nation. This is the neo-liberal
ideology of the global aristocracy.
We are living in a New World Order where national boarders
are being replaced with class boarders. One world where the worst aspects of
communism and capitalism have combined to create a hybrid monster system of
global scope.
If your nation is to survive and not be absorbed into this
global feudalism you need to separate economic power from political power.
-No political advertising permitted, all debate takes place
in local forums, local candidates, stick to the issues and no corporate
control/sponsorship of the forums
-No campaign staff permitted, no “strategic outreach” teams/
marketing contractors, candidates should be able to stand on their own two feet
and speak their truth, candidates should stand amongst each other with
political equality, this way the established powers with big campaigns would
not monopolize the process, this way decisions would be made based more on
policy and less on the ability to get the message out through a national
organization, no public relations/ spin doctors
-No government money used to advertise policies of parties
currently in power
- Limit campaign donations to $20 per citizen per year with
no tax deduction given
-No corporate donations, no lobbying, no special access to
public officials
-No party control over how representatives choose to vote,
all votes = free votes
-Enact a single transferable ballot proportional
representation system, whereby parties who only get a minority of the votes do
not get 100% power and voters can vote freely based on conscience without being
forced into strategic voting
-Bring democracy to the senate, or any other legislative
body filled with appointed “representatives”
-Ensure that watchdog organizations are not appointed/
controlled by the people they are supposed to be watching
-Ensure the speaker of the house is non-partisan, is
selected either through promotion from within the civil service or elected as
an independent
-Increase oversight of the financial affairs of
representatives to prevent corruption
-Index the pay and benefits of representatives to the
average pay and benefits of the people, give them an incentive to improve
things for the country not just the 1%
-Authorize the security services to keep a close eye on
representatives to prevent foreign interference in our political affairs
The idea is that if the monopoly on power held by the major
parties were broken we would have a much better chance at reversing the decline.
As things stand the major parties endorse outsourcing while much of the public
does not. There is a fairly commonly held view that we outsourced our economy
to China, and if the public were ever allowed a chance to bring the jobs home
they would take it.
Take for example the last American election. Both candidates
had to say that they were against outsourcing and they would re-negotiate trade
agreements as they always say but never do. Americans knew nothing would change
but they only had two parties to vote for and both have allowed American
industrial capacity to be outsourced over the past 30 years. America did not
have a real choice.
Break the old party monopolies, divorce money from power,
and we have a chance.
" Unions, citizen groups, and environmentalists have joined a growing chorus alarmed about a secretive investment deal with China, voicing their support yesterday for a First Nation's lawsuit seeking to halt the agreement.
The groups said they are concerned about the lack of public consultation and aboriginal consent, and provisions allowing companies to sue governments over legislation, contained within the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). "
" "This deal would critically impact every provincial government's ability to make autonomous decisions directly affecting the well-being of their citizens," said Hupacasath First Nation councillor Brenda Sayers. "Our environmental laws have been gutted, so there's very little environmental protection or process around how resources are removed... This is a very big deal for Canada. It is critical for Canadians, at this point in time, to pay attention to this."
The lawsuit presents an opportunity to educate people about the "secretive and extreme" FIPA deal, said Jamie Biggar, executive director of Leadnow.ca. After the agreements came to light last autumn, the advocacy organization fundraised more than $30,000 among its 225,000 members to support Hupacasath's injunction request. "
" "The reason why these negotiated behind closed doors -- the reason this is not going to Parliament and why it's not being brought in front of the public -- is because, for past trade agreements, the government has realized the public does not support [them]," "
" "These free trade agreements give corporations power over governments, and limit a government's ability to put regulations and laws in place to protect the rights of citizens, the land and natural resources of our country," she said. "If corporations think that rules and regulations to protect our labour rights, human rights or our environment get in their way, they can sue our government.
"With no debate or consultation, the Harper government is prepared to undermine our rights -- labour rights we have fought for as unions, human rights, democratic rights and the right to protect our environment, and most importantly, the rights of First Nations over lands and resources."
With tensions rising in the province over Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, and Kinder Morgan's plans to expand its own pipeline from the Alberta oil sands, some have suggested the real intent of the FIPA may be to lock in oil exports to Asia. "
"According to ancient Chinese general Sun Zi (孫子), or Sun Tzu, author of the famous military classic “The Art of War” (孫子兵法), this is the ultimate strategy that should always be attempted first before resorting to battle.
Sun Zi believed that the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s army without fighting, captures the enemy’s cities without attack, and overthrows the enemy’s nation without a lengthy operation."
" If the Canada-China FIPA passes, China’s companies could sue Canada if any Canadian government - including our provinces - makes any decision that put our health, jobs and environment before their profit. Worse yet, these suits would be decided by unaccountable arbitrators in secret courts outside our legal system.
That’s not how Canada is supposed to work. We live in a democratic federation, and our provinces should have to consent to any major federal decision that would undermine their authority. Our provinces can defend their constitutional powers from FIPA. If Christy Clark, BC’s premier, acts now to defend the rights of British Columbians, she could stop Harper from locking us into FIPA for 31 years. "
" Four months ago, Prime Minister Harper quietly announced that he wanted to pass the biggest trade deal in a generation without a single vote in Parliament. Your campaign raised the alarm about the danger of FIPA’s secret investor-state courts. You united Canadians, divided Harper’s caucus and made him think twice about ratifying this bad trade deal. The Hupacasath First Nation are taking this FIPA to court to defend their rights. "
" FIPA would expose Canada to lawsuits from China’s massive companies in secret investor-state courts -- outside Canada’s legal system -- that have a track record of systematically ruling against the interests of Canadians. Under this system, Canada has already been sued more than any industrialized country in the world. Investor-state lawsuits undermine our democratic control. "
" Our provinces have defended our rights before. In the 1990s, BC played a leadership role in the successful fight against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). A BC legislative committee publicly studied the MAI and expressed serious concerns about the fact that it would expose Canada to investor-state arbitration. It found that if the federal government fails to gain the express consent of the province, “the Province must vigorously defend its authority on behalf of all British Columbians."
Let’s call on our premiers to use every tool they have - political and legal - to stop the Canada-China FIPA from being ratified unless the secret investor-state courts are removed, public consultations are held in every province, and our provinces consent to the deal through a democratic vote in their legislature. "
With hope and respect, Emma, Jamie, Matthew and the whole Leadnow.ca team
" "China has a “deeply ingrained” need to spar with Japan and other Asian neighbors over territory, because the ruling Communist Party uses the disputes to maintain strong domestic support, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an interview.
Clashes with neighbors, notably Japan, play to popular opinion, Abe said, given a Chinese education system that emphasizes patriotism and “anti-Japanese sentiment.” "
Brainwashed School Children in China 2009
China Anti Japanese Student Brainwashing 2012
How can you support your leaders when they provide support for the objectives of the Communist Party of China and it's campaign of one-world hatred and oppression. We should not do business or provide resources to a force that is so anti-human. Below is footage of what martial law under Chinese Communist occupation looks like. Is Canada next?
In Tibet you can be arrested for merely walking outside your door and saying:
"long live the Dali Lama".
It's sad, the Chinese have been trained to hate from a young age, like the Hitler youth.
At one point you can see about 50 Chinese with guns cuffing a scared old woman and laughing.
LEAKED Video from Tibet Show China's Ongoing Brutal Repression On Tibetans
This is what martial law looks like, we have to stop the New World Order.
" Of the 104 Tibetans who set themselves on fire since February 2009, 22 were under the age of 18, Save Tibet said. They have taken part in the fiery protests to demonstrate against the Chinese regime’s policies in Tibetan areas, calling for cultural and religious freedom, as well as the return of the Dalai Lama. "
" He related a recent discussion he had with a doctor: A patient told the doctor that they would not be attending treatment the following day, because they were going to China, where their donor was about to be shot. “That’s a chilling prospect,” Shoebridge said, “and one which we have a moral duty to address.” "
" While Chinese officials admit—after years of denials —that organs come from prisoners, they do not specify which types of prisoners. Available evidence suggests that in large part, the organs have come from practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted in China since 1999.
The research of two Canadians, human rights lawyer David Matas, and former parliamentarian David Kilgour, indicates that from 2000 to 2005, 41,500 organs were harvested from Falun Gong prisoners. The consultation paper produced as part of Shoebridge’s bill amendment includes reference to the Kilgour-Matas report. Gutmann estimates the figure was 65,000 by 2008. "
" To most Canadians this curious disclosure seems confounding, if not paradoxical. How can "the economic engine" of Canada run five government deficits in a row yet promise prosperity for the nation? Is no one in charge? "
"Terry Lynn Karl, the acclaimed author of Paradox of Plenty, describes the petromania resource curse more directly: Easy access to oil wealth lowers "financial discipline within bureaucracies and leads to reckless budgetary practices. Most importantly, it preempts efforts to mobilize domestic resources through taxation" which, in turn, creates more dependence on oil."
" Alberta must "redirect the revenues gained from the sale of resources away from the government's budget and toward saving," conclude the pair. "
" "As we noted previously this is the solution to the problem of energy price volatility that has been successfully employed by energy-rich Norway and that has been frequently urged upon the Alberta government. Unfortunately, it is a solution that has eluded the government of Alberta." "
"Easy wealth seems to discourage hard thinking, the same way scarcity stimulates innovation."
" In a petro state politicians and business leaders become so tied to the perverse incentives of mining oil, says Terry Lynn Karl, that they "develop networks of complicity based on the classic exchange between the right to rule and the right to make money." "
" How do you know when you live in petro state? Here are some key signs:
When your government pays 30 per cent of its road, education, and hospital bills with finite and volatile hydrocarbon revenue.
When your province posts five budget deficits in a row during a so-called "bitumen boom."
When the government approves 100 bitumen projects over a ten-year period without a cumulative impact assessment.
When your government fires the Chief Elections Officer, Lorne Gibson, in 2009 for doing his job and reporting on widespread electoral fraud.
When your government estimates that cleaning up toxic waste in the tar sands will cost more than $20 billion but asks industry to set aside only $1 billion.
When the province's oil and gas regulator argues in Queen's Court that it owes "no duty of care" to Albertan landowners or the province's groundwater.
When a bunch of Calgary lawyers decide that the best market for their self-branded "ethical oil" are Chinese national oil firms directed by the world's leading moral philosophers, the Communist Party of China. "
" Governments and financial analysts who think unconventional fossil fuels such as bitumen, shale gas and shale oil can usher in an era of prosperity and energy plenty are dangerously deluded, concludes a groundbreaking report by one of Canada's top energy analysts. "
" The latest panaceas championed by industry and media talking heads are too expensive and will deplete too rapidly to provide either energy security or independence for the United States, concludes the 62-year-old geologist who worked for Natural Resources Canada for 32 years as a coal and gas specialist. "
Unconventional fossil fuels all share a host of cruel and limiting traits says Hughes. They offer dramatically fewer energy returns; they consume extreme and endless flows of capital; they provide difficult or volatile rates of supply overtime and have "large environmental impacts in their extraction." "
" The Chinese regime for the first time admitted the existence of so-called “cancer villages”—areas near factories and polluted waterways where cancer rates have increased to startlingly high levels.
Over the years, Chinese environmental activists have said there is a strong link between increased cancer rates and industrial pollution—in part due to corrupt officials looking the other way when developers and businesses violate environmental regulations. Investigative journalist Deng Fei in 2009 showed some of the worst-hit areas using Google maps. "
" The $33-million lawsuit alleges that Encana, one of Canada's largest natural gas producers, drilled and fracked shallow coal bed methane wells directly in the local groundwater supply between 2001 and 2004 near Rosebud, Alberta and thereby polluted Ernst's water well with enough toxic chemicals and methane to make it flammable. "
Ai Weiwei world famous artist Persecuted for belief in Compassion
