Canad's Human Rights Record

Canada’s Human Rights Record

 

Gomeshi really started somethin’ this time. At least he did with me. Another sleazebag in the lime light vying for our attention. Thankfully the court of public opinion has thrown him under the bus an’ not a moment too soon! No sooner did women start coming forth with some of the ammunition to nail his hide to the barn door than complaints of abuse started surfacing (of all places) in the House of Commons. A couple of Liberal MPs were suspended pending the outcome of an investigation (by somebody unknown) and the whole house got its shorts in a wringer about privacy and reliving the abuses, whatever they were. Low and behold, all of a sudden Sheila Copps comes out of the woodwork, announcing the abuse she suffered at the hands of parliamentarians years ago. I can still remember when she got into a verbal swordfight with big old John Crosbie and ended up skewering his big fat butt to the pork barrel. I think in one of his typical tirades he called her “baby” and she pointed out that she wasn’t anybody’s baby, especially HIS! I certainly hope she now comes forward and files formal complaints with the police on her abuses.

We “tut tut” and shake our heads in disapproval at the abuses that go on in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and other places far away from Canada. We would never condone such things here in Canada. Oh no? Well just for your information, read this: http://criaw-icref.ca/ViolenceagainstWomenandGirls. That’ll open your eyes a little bit. It turns out that we are one really sick nation of abusers. Five hundred thousand cases per year happen here in Canada. If you do the math, that amounts to one case of abuse per minute.

So when we stand in silence to remember those who have fought and died so that we may live in a free and democratic society, we need to look and see just what kind of free and democratic society we have wrought. Would these men and women have given their lives to pay for the sick society we have become? I think not.

The twelve hundred murdered and missing Aboriginal women would agree with me. The men and women who are being abused every minute of every day would agree with me. Just now there was another report of a sixteen-year-old Aboriginal girl who was assaulted and left for dead in the Assiniboine River. She was fortunately found and survived. She would agree with me.

We have absolutely no business calling for improved human rights in the countries we’re wagging our fingers at when we ourselves are blatant abusers. We’d be far better off recognizing our own shortcomings and cleaning up our house rather than point our accusatory fingers at our neighbors. But then Mr. Harper et al would be confused at my accusations. He would peek out of his fluffy cocoon, declare that everything is fine in there, and keep on allowing abuse. In fact that’s the case with many of us who either haven’t been abused, or those that think this is acceptable. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin.  

Respect

Respect

 

On the eleventh day of November at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour we will stop whatever it is we’re doing and for two minutes will remember the service men and women who gave their lives in service to their country. We will remember them singly and collectively and honor them for their ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. Having done so, we’ll go about our business again.

Well, theoretically, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. But now we have the government debating whether we should make this a national holiday. Really? REALLY? Just what is that supposed to imply? Who in the department of Stupid thought that up? Are we really supposed to have a holiday in the midst of the armed forces laying wreaths at cenotaphs, march pasts and parades to honor their fallen brothers and sisters? Is that how we honor those who have sacrificed their lives on our behalf? Oh sure, the people in the military and the families of those being remembered will remember, that stands to reason. But what about the rest of us? What are we supposed to do, go bowling?

Respect! Let’s start with respect. Perhaps we should commemorate a special day for respect. Of all the things we seem to have lost in this whole business of paying homage to our fallen brothers and sisters is respect. We don’t have to believe in the causes they went to war for or even that they had a choice or not to decide. But we should respect their right to do so and their families in their grief for the ones lost.

I remember a time during WWII when there was soldiers, seamen an’ airmen everywhere you looked. They was in train stations, on buses, on the streets – everywhere. Mind you, that was a big war, not like these mini “police actions” we have today. But there was respect. Even among the service men. Mind you, with them it was either respect or court martial (not a bad idea). Well, even funerals if you can imagine. If a funeral procession was goin’ by, you automatically stopped, removed your cap or hat an placed it over your heart and stood still while the procession drove by. There was never a question about it. That was respect, pure an’ simple.

These days though, ever since advent of the “Me” generation, respect has taken on a whole new meaning. It has become an entitlement rather than an obligation, something to be received rather than given. In other words, whatever we do or say should be respected by everybody else, regardless of what it is. OH, REALLY! It’s high time for an attitude adjustment, or at least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin’.

 

The Freakin Frickin Frackin Felons

The Freakin Frickin Frackin Felons

 

Well there ain’t no other way to describe them bunch o’ thieves! Oh I guess there is but there’s gotta be some law against it. Maybe the keyboard would melt if I used some of the terminology that comes to mind. An’ I don’t fancy the tongue lashin’ I’d be in for from the Missus if I did. All I can suggest is you use all the despicable adjectives you ever learned as a youngster an’ apply them to these miserable excuses for humanity that are intent on destroyin’ our planet for the sake of their own greed.

The huge amounts of water they use in their frackin’ operations will soon suck the world’s aquifers dry. Well, just figure on two to four million gallons per well (which is what they estimate). You take the thirty-five thousand wells in the U.S alone an’ you get some idea why California is in its drought status. I started readin’ about this stuff the other day an’ just up an’ quit right in the middle of it. I gave up. Holy Hannah! Makes gang rape seem like a Sunday school activity! Not only do they poison the huge quantities of OUR water they use in their operations, makin’ it useless for anythin’ else, but they try (in their righteous environmental minds) to recover it as best they can an’ dump what’s left in the oceans of the world. An’ they don’t do much of a cleanin’ job neither. In the meantime a lot of it gets flushed into our rivers an’ streams an’ thus into our drinking water sources.

What the heck, we’ll get used to it (they think). Small incremental amounts of poison at a time an’ we’ll build up a resistance to it an’ won’t even notice. Pretty soon poisoned water will be the new normal so what are we complainin’ about anyhow?

I can’t even think of a suitable punishment that should be foisted upon these freakin’ frickin’ frackers, but I’m workin’ on it. Do we know who they are? I don’t mean the companies in particular, but the people who work for them. They should be identified with names – an’ maybe with a tattoo on their foreheads that says “Fracker”. Or maybe they should be made to wear armbands so we know who they are. We need a registry of these people so that every time they want a drink of water, they should be given a glass full o’ their own profit money instead, or a plate full o’ their money instead of food. Let’s see how long they last that way.

Clean drinkin’ water is a basic human right that cannot be tampered with. Nor can it be requisitioned for ownership by someone for his/her own use, whatever it is. It used to be that if you wanted to dig a well of a certain size above the normal four inches, you had to get permission from the municipality. If they didn’t approve it, you didn’t get the well. Whatever happened to them kinds o’ laws anyways? We gotta put some teeth into what can an’ can’t be done ‘round here. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top of the shelf.

Just sayin’.

 

 

The Russians are Comin'

The Russians are Comin’!

 

              D’you really believe that Russian ship off the coast of Haida Guaii is there by accident? What’s a Russian ship doin’ prowlin’ around in Indian country in the first place? That’s what I’d like to know. I wouldn’t think anythin’ about it except that a few weeks ago there was a Russian bomber flyin around our northern territories, an’ now this. An’ don’t forget that Russian nuclear sub at the bottom of the Beaufort Sea.

Well, I gotta admit they done us a temporary favor in showin’ how unprepared an’ under-equipped we really are, not that it makes any difference to our government departments. They couldn’t find their rear ends with both hands behind their backs anyways. They’ve been busy gettin’ our shipment of Ebola vaccine ready to be shipped off to the World Health Organization (one day late), an adverstizin’ to Isis that they’ll be there to start their bombin’ raids in about two weeks time.

              In the meantime, they send out a coupl’a tug boats to tow that Russian vessel away from Haida Guaii, but they got no cables strong enough to pull the sucker any distance. So they hire an American tug to do the job. But the Americans want nothin’ to do with this Russian vessel. So instead of towin’ it into Seattle (where it ought to be), it gets hauled to Prince Rupert, B. C. I assume somebody paid the Americans to do that an’ it was likely the Canadian taxpayers.

             So now we got ten Russian crew members floatin’ around Prince Rupert checkin’ things out while somebody else cleans or changes the spark plugs in their engines. Then they’ll go sailin’ back to Russia to tell Mr. Putin the Canadians are as ready as they’ll ever get, meanin’ not ready for anythin’ at all.

              It turns out the Russians have pulled off a perfect spy mission an’ nobody’s the wiser for it. The government, in cahoots with the oil companies are trumpetin’ the fact that they’ll be ready for an oil spill if (an’ when) it ever happens. Yeah, well they just proved that didn’t they? Well they’re even less ready for Putin’s nefarious ideas. When it comes – and it will, it will be very painful. The Ukrainians can attest to that.

               It looks to me like the Pied Piper is leadin’ the government an’ the oil companies an’ the business investors et al by the nose into a dark hole from which there is no return. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

              Just sayin’.

 

Bully, Bully! The Prime Minister's a Bully

Bully, Bully! The Prime Minister's a Bully

Did you hear about that? The prime minister has declared that he is entitled to use material (copyrighted) from media to construct and broadcast attack ads for his election campaign. And he’ll change the law if necessary to make sure nobody gets in his road on the subject.

Bully, bully prime minister, you’re a bully! I guess you’re the number one bully in the country. What a wonderful example to set for our students who are working so hard to eliminate bullying. Originally I wasn’t goin’ to use the word “bully”. I had another word in mind that rhymes with “brick”, but the Missus wouldn’t let me use it. Too bad. It really fits, but I guess I’ll have to make do.

Well now, low and behold, if providence didn’t come along an’ shore up the whole notion of bricks. Turns out the brickwork in the parliament buildin’s is crumblin’. Holy crackers! They got that right! Well, they might be talkin’ about the bricks that’s holdin’ up the roof in the place, but it’s prophetic that it coincides with the “bricks” activities goin’ on inside the house. Maybe they’re the cause of all the falling bricks in the buildin’s.

Whatever the case, it’s become abundantly clear that Mr. Harper is the biggest brick o’ them all. He’s decided to change copyright law so that he can use inadvertent TV quotes from opposition parties in his attack ads. The media is of course incensed at his blatent use of power to tromp on their copyright. Well, I think perhaps they’re a little overly sensetive but that’s neither here nor there. It’s the principle of the arbitrary power by which he operates that offends. And what is all this in aid of? To insult the opposition, that’s what. Maybe that way he’ll win the next election (he says to himself – feelin’ kinda cocky).

Harper has already proven beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s a bully, given all the people he’s thrown under the bus during his time in power. An’ most o’ the other bricks in his load who are too covetous of their fat government pensions to go up against him and will ultimately add up to a couple of bricks short of a full load come election time. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin’.

 

Lessons Learned - Or Not

Lessons Learned - Or Not

In 1938 Neville Chamberlain sat down with Hitler to map out a way to convince the British people to accept the German agenda in a non aggression pact. One shudders to think what might have happened had the deal been consummated. Well the Russians learned that first hand with their non aggression pact with Germany didn't they? And the end game of asylum for the Nazis in Argentina in exchange for precious artworks stolen from captured towns which came to pass.

It seems to me our government and indeed ALL governments should go back in history a little bit to re-learn the lessons of the past and act accordingly. It would certainly help to clarify the debate about the middle east as well as the Ukraine. Do we need boots on the ground in these places? You darn right we do, and lots of them. The enemy, in order to be defeated needs to be overwhelmed by a force to storm its very foundation, house to house and door to door if necessary. There will always be time for diplomacy later, once an unconditional surrender is signed, sealed and delivered.

This whole international conflict business has taken on a false civility that benefits no one but the arms dealers and the businesses in the conflict zones. During WWII some 2 billion people served in the armed forces (on both sides) There were some 1.1 million Canadians in the fray. Between 38 and 55 million civilians died and 22 - 25 million military lost their lives. What I'm saying here is that war is a deadly business and you're either in it or you're not. And if you want to win the war, you'd better get all your boots on the ground and quickly.

Of course, the Americans are following FDR's formula of not entering the war as such, but supplying all the armaments for it. That's how they became such a wealthy nation. Now they are acting as the world's policeman (as well). They're convinced that they can orchestrate the outcomes of their actions by way of drones and remote warfare methods. Let somebody else do the dirty work. Well, it ain't gonna happen. The U.S. should remember that from Pearl Harbor. It's always the infantry that mops up the mess left by everybody else and that ain't changed none. They'll want somebody like the Australian Diggers to do that work.

War is a bloody brutal, dirty, dehumanizing business to be involved in, and if you're going to get into it, you'd better be prepared to put all your resources into it in the first place, or else stay home and mind your own business. At least that's how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin'.

 

Goin' to Mars?

Goin’ to Mars?

It has kind of an adventurous ring to it don’t it? I mean, takin’ a one way trip to a planet that’s a gazillion miles away to live in a fabricated community, never to return to earth. Well I guess it must be attractive to some folks, ‘cause they’re signin’ up for it left, right, an’ center awlready. They prolly think they’re goin’ to be in a star wars movie. Gives a whole new meanin’ to “Beam me up Scotty”. Only thing is you just get only one beam up. There ain’t no beamin’ back neither. That of course gives rise to another thing I saw this mornin’, bein’: “There’s eight planets in our solar system an’ all the idiots are livin’ on mine.”, but that’s another story altogether.

What I was drivin’ at here was the fact that the weather on Mars is so hostile that you can’t even go outside there for fear of bein’ flash frozen just outside yer door. An’ who knows what kind of air you can breathe there anyways? An’ water? Well they say there used to be water there an’ maybe there still is somewheres underground. That sounds like a pretty big gamble to me.

All of this comes with a cost of course. As of 2012, it was about two and a half billion dollars. That’s two years ago an’ since then India has also launched a rocket to go to Mars, so there’s even more cost, an this is just the start o’ things. It almost seems that the greater the cost, the more important the mission, (if that makes any sense).

I’m sure it will come as a great shock to the people involved in this Mars mission to discover that there is already a place right here on earth that meets most of their criteria. It’s called Antarctica an’ it’s a whole dad blamed continent, uninhabited except for a few researchers here an’ there. There’s fourteen million square miles of solid ground (under the ice) to walk on, an’ there’s air to breathe there too. Not only that, but it also has ninety percent of the world’s fresh water supply right there. They even got return trips at certain times o’ the year. That’s got to be a bonus! 

Oh, wait! Maybe that’s it. Maybe they don’t wanna come back. Maybe they just want an adventure, or maybe they wanna get away from everybody an’ everythin’ else. An money ain’t no object neither. It’s not like they’re gonna need it to buy groceries or gas or go to a nightclub, that’s for sure. An’ why leave it to the kids anyways? They’d just piddle it away on groceries an’ gas an’ nightclubs.

An for the investors in these sophisticated transport systems, they’ve already presold their rides on the bus to Mars, so they ain’t out anythin’. In fact, they figure they need about a million people to go up there for the planet to become self-sustaining so they got their futures mapped out.

Well what are we to make of all this? Nothing really. That’s just human nature. We been doin’ that since we first got booted outta the garden of Eden. We’re so busy lookin’ after our own wants an’ desires, we don’t give a rip about anybody else. It’s the prime example of the self over the community. That’s our civilization. At least that’s how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin’.