On CF-18s for NATO operation in Eastern Europe

From Tom Mulcair:
To be clear, the Russian Federation's annexation of Crimea and provocations in Eastern Ukraine are as unacceptable as they are illegal. And like our allies, we've been unequivocal in condemning Russia's military intervention and in calling for a diplomatic solution to this crisis.  However, after turning their backs on international engagement for years, the Conservatives have now severely constricted our country's ability to play a constructive role.

We must reassure our partners in Eastern Europe of our firm commitment to their sovereignty, stability, and security. But it's not enough for Canada to simply posture and take potshots. Instead, we must step up our diplomatic efforts in the region because a political resolution remains the only path to long-term stability.

Canada's reputation as an independent and principled member of the international community was a cornerstone for some of our country's greatest accomplishments in the twentieth century. That legacy of international responsibility—now profoundly tarnished by the Conservatives—was fundamental to how we saw ourselves and how others saw us. Looking forward, our New Democratic team will not give up until Canada has reclaimed its role as an unyielding voice for peace on the world stage.

From Elilzabeth May:

Thank you for copying me on your letter to the Prime Minister about Canada sending CF-18 fighter jets to Eastern Europe as a “show of strength.” It boggles the mind that we have gotten to the point where the Prime Minister deems it appropriate to send a mission of over 200 soldiers without first consulting Parliament. We used to live in a country where we took missions like these seriously and where the constitutional supremacy of Parliament was recognized in making decisions of this importance. In contrast, Members of Parliament only heard about this after the decision had been made.

Canada used to play a crucial role on the world stage. We used to be the honest brokers, known for our success in diplomacy when it seemed that force was the only option. We are now transitioning towards a nation that sends fighter jets to flex our muscles and to intimidate, not thinking about how that will affect our diplomatic credibility. Though it is the Harper Conservatives who are pushing this agenda, the other opposition parties have also signed on. Even when Parliament is allowed the courtesy of a vote on our military missions, as in the vote to extend the military mission in Libya, mine was the only dissenting vote.

In sending these jets, not only was the democratic process not respected, it is also very unclear what the terms of the mission are. In the words of Lt.-Gen. Yvan Blondin “There is a lot of uncertainty about what we're going to be doing over there.” We know that we are sending jets, we just are not exactly sure why.

While we should be pushing for dialogue and diplomacy, we are sending an open-ended mission with unclear terms. Instead of playing a key role in resolving the crisis in Ukraine, we are opting for empty force. Parliament could have told Harper this. If only he had asked.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday ruled out military intervention in the dispute with Russia over Ukraine and said she was counting on a diplomatic resolution to Europe’s worst crisis since the Cold War ended. ARNO SCHUETZE FRANKFURT — Reuters

How does it help the innocent to be bombed?

CF-18's - Ceasefire.ca

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

I am strongly opposed to Canada sending CF-18 fighter-bombers as a show of strength in Eastern Europe. I urge you to pursue a long-term peaceful and secure solution to the conflict in Ukraine through diplomatic channels.

Monsieur le premier ministre,

Je m'oppose fermement à ce que le Canada envoie des chasseurs-bombardiers CF-18 dans une démonstration de force en Europe de l'Est. Je vous conjure d'utiliser les recours diplomatiques à votre disposition pour rechercher une solution pacifique et sécuritaire à long terme aux conflits en Ukraine. 

Sincerely
Janet Vickers

Common Sense and Orphan Wells

Commonsense Canadian: Despite admitting there is an increasing trend of inactive well sites awaiting reclamation, the BC Oil and Gas Commission has slashed its budget for its orphan site reclamation fund from $4.83 million in 2013 to just $1 million in 2014.

According to the Orphan Well Association, “an orphan is a well, pipeline, facility or associated site which has been investigated and confirmed as not having any legally responsible or financially able party to deal with its abandonment and reclamation.”

Thanks to Honourable and Ethical Seekers of Truth

http://www.friends.ca/ILoveCBC/

Thanks to Canada and the work of the CBC I have evolved from a prejudiced European immigrant to a citizen of world community.

Canada has taught me the value of multiculturalism. I have been privileged to go where I would never have gone had I stayed in the UK. I have attended services in a Synagogue, a Sikh temple, a Catholic church and a Greek Orthodox church.

My daughter learned to dance in a Ukrainian Cultural club. My children have traveled around the world eagerly accepting the hospitality of different peoples.  I have eaten Chinese, Italian, Greek and Kosher foods. But mostly I have learned that people of different races are not a menace or a threat.  The threat is the way in which we have been trained to fear the stranger for the entrenched power of those who seek absolute power over continents.

And mostly I have learned so much about humility and a gentle approach to living with nature from our First Nations. 

Toula Drimonis says "The CBC provides a coast-to-coast identity, and support for our artists and intellectuals. It provides a popular forum for well-reasoned arguments, for ideas to flourish, for the kind of intellect that stands in stark contrast to popular infotainment produced and consumed daily in mass quantities."

From the beginning the CBC has taken on the mandate of bringing Canadians together by allowing Canadians to share their experiences across this vast land. 

CBC is a threat only to the transnational interests who have organized the destabilization of nations all over the globe, divide and separate the people, for the sake of cheap resources.  

Naomi Wolf: 10 easy steps towards fascism

Back in 2007 Naomi Wolf wrote an article in The Guardian on how a civilized democratic society can be reduced to a barbaric fascist state. This article is timeless and should be taught in schools, or should have been taught in schools. Is it too late? 

Here are the steps:

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
2. Create a gulag
3. Develop a thug caste
4. Set up an internal surveillance system
5. Harass citizens' groups
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7. Target key individuals
8. Control the press
9. Dissent equals treason
10. Suspend the rule of law

It's worth revisiting the article for the comments Wolf includes for each one.

Sheila Malcolmson running for nomination for the NDP Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding

May 2005 photo by David Borrowman

“After 12 years in local government where I’ve been really happy and honoured to serve Islanders, I’m seeing more and more where a lot of the barriers to implementing the kind of protections and society that we want to hang on to is being thwarted at the federal level – whether that’s pipeline approvals and gutting environmental protection regulations, killing public input opportunities, gutting affordable housing and co-op funding – so much flows from the federal side, and that’s where I’m called to serve right now.”

Sheila Malcolmson in The Flying Shingle, March 24, 2014, in answer to the question why she is running for the nomination of NDP in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding.

Mending the Broken Promise

From Thomas Mulcair: 

The Conservatives' Unfair Elections Act, C-23, prohibits Elections Canada from promoting youth outreach and education initiatives, like Student Vote—a non-partisan school program that encourages young people to participate in the electoral system‎. Thanks to the advocacy work of Elections Canada, over 500,000 Canadian students learned about the voting system and were encouraged to participate in school elections during the 2011 federal election.

(For more information go to Craig Scott's page. )

The inherent promise in so much of what we have learned over centuries of human struggle, is that power is to be used for the greater good of all its citizens ~ to create societies that allow people to live peacefully and with enough resources to care for their beloved community. Freedom of information, a clean environment, and an education system that supports our children's physical and intellectual growth to become responsible and healthy citizens.

But this promise is broken whenever leaders divert their responsibility for their personal ambition of wealth, or to centralize power for an elite. Every ruling system no matter what it is called breaks the promise and destroys hope for the future when the covenant is corrupted.

We are all stakeholders here and if we choose to believe there is nothing we can do to get closer to a fair and just society, we break the contract and enable the opportunists to rob our children of a livable future.