A critical review of local and world news. This blog originally commented on the Moncton Times and Transcript but has enlarged its scope.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

June 6: A bad day...

The United Nations has named Canada as a nation in violation of international law because it provides protection and safety for those being sought for war crimes. Canada has also cooperated with torturers (turning over Canadian citizens who were quite innocent to be tortured by the CIA.) And our very own CSIS has taken part in the joys of torture. But that didn't make the Times and Transcript.

In its joyful coverage of the Queen smiling and waving, the TandT didn't mention the unemployed men and women who were bussed in to do much of the work - without pay. The contractor who supplied them said that if they didn't do this, he would not consider them for employment in the Olympics. They arrived late at night, and sent to sleep in the cold and wet on a concrete sidewalk under London Bridge with no bedding, no shelters, no toilets, no changing rooms. There they lived and worked for three days with no pay, only the hope that they would be allowed to apply for a job at the Olympics.

God save our gracious queen.

In Israel, Jewish Israelis, encouraged by their politicians and news media, are going wildly racist against Palestinians and Black African refugees. The refugees have been beaten by mobs, their living areas firebombed....they've been denied the right to work so they can feed themselves, and labelled by Netanyahu himself as rapists and thieves who should all be padlocked and deported.
But don't worry about it. You won't have read about it in TandT.

For the third day in a row, US drones have attacked targets in Pakistan. (All those killed, according to US sources, were militants. Sure. All those photos of dead women and children you can find in the British and French press are militant women and children. And militant babies.)

Drones and special ops troops are also being used against Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela, and, really, an unknown number of countries. Under international law - and treaties signed by the US - that is illegal. Under the law, you cannot attack a country that has not attacked you. That makes Obama a war ciminal. In fact, the US has hanged people (foreigners only) for doing that.

It is also against the American constution. These are acts of war, and only congress can approve or war. And it hasn't.

So who gives a damn.

Remember how we bombed Libya as a 'humanitarian measure' and to support the democracy loving rebels? Well. there's sill no democracy as the democracy-loving rebels are fighting each other - and also looting and raping on a wide scale - and continuting to hunt down Black Africans to kill them.

The austerity measures imposed on Greece are so severe, the government cannot afford to feed the prisoners in its jails. There is, incidentally, no evidence that cutting government budgets helps to end a recession. In fact, the evidence shows the opposite. Cutting government spending (as both Alward and Harper are doing) makes a recession worse.

Signs are strong of a new and even deeper recession are strong. The US is not recovering, even as it slashes food stamps for the hungry so it can keep taxes low for the rich.

Veterans are in Ottawa to protest our shabby treatment of the soldiers we sent to fight in Afghanistan, particularly the treatment of those who have suffered permanent physical and mental damage. We'll have to remember that when we get the hypocrite of the year to be our main speaker on Nov. 11. Maybe we could get somebody from Crandall University.

But relax. None of this is in the Times and Transcript. Nothing else is, either.

The editorial is, again, strongly for the events centre. Of course. It is always for something that somebody rich and influential wants to make money out of - but wants us to pay for. The other type of editorial is the coarse and ignorant rant against anybody who make lousy pay and would like a raise.

Surely, a person who writes so vigorously should have the courage and integrity to sign his name to it. I don't know who the writer is - but it has been suggested that he is Rod Allen. Any thoughts or other suggestions?

Norbert's column is a new low. It is a hateful rant and, once again, on a subject he knows nothing about, this time - the Quebec student strike. Though he speaks with the voice of a prophet, he more closely resembles and ignorant and vicious rabble-rouser. But to his credit, he comes to the defence of university presidents, saying that students selfishly want to see their salaries cut. Do you know what a university president gets?

The salary where I raught is $370,000 a year, plus an interest free mortgage on his house, plus tens of thousands in untaxable benefits. And, if he is so stinking he gets fired, or so lazy he just wants to quit, he gets a separation package of at least the high hundreds of thousands. Way to stand up for the poor and suffering, Norbert. Now write about those evil Codiac bus drivers who would like to get paid enough to live on.

ForumE continued with its "discussion" of shale gas. Some speakers have been highly critical of the very idea of developing shale gas. But not one of them has been quoted in the newspaper. The only ones we have read of have been the industry representatives, some academics of questionable integrity, and hack politicians.

Yesterday's hack politician was Alward, who promised tough rules and tough supervision. This comes from a man who has so imposed no rules and no supervision - not even though the drilling began over a dozen years ago.

But I have faith New Brunswick voters willl show him. They'll vote for the Liberals next time. that will show they won't tolerate lying and irresponsible politcians. Right.

George Leblanc, who seems to see being mayor as a sort of preparation to lead a movie comeback of the three stooges, is all gung-ho for borrowing a hundred million (and more) for a very badly planned civic centre. Being the forward looking man the TandT says he is, I'm sure he has noticed the acceleratiing collapse of the world economic system, and he has made plans for the severe impact it might have on Moncton, and he has made sure that going into hock for a hundred million for what is essentially a hockey rink won't affect our ability to deal with any economic crisis.

(Duh. yeah. people will come from all over the world to see the Wildcats - duh - people from Greece and Spain and Ireland...duh.)

I know. I'm in a bad mood today. That's because I finally realized that the shale gas drilling is going to go ahead, and the permanent damage to people and land and water is going to happen. The politicians and the drillers don't give a damn what we think or what happens as a result of that. Most New Brunswickers will get nothing but short-term jobs, bad health, and a ruined land.

The big money will go to a handful of billionaires who will finish the job of sucking this province dry, and throwing away the peelings. Their only real cost will be paying the election expenses of all the hacks in the Liberal and Conservative parties. And I suspect those come relatively cheap.

I've been five years here and, at last, I have to wonder. Will New Brunswickers never stir to defend themselves, their families, their homes, their land....? This is such a beautiful province, with so many polite and good-hearted people... It's heart-breaking to watch them being so terribly abused - and not doing a thing about it.

1 comment:

have you heard about the oil spill in Rainbow Lake Alberta? I'm working on the clean up crew, operating a vacuum truck. There is about 20-25 acres of swampland covered in oil and chemicals. It has been estimated at 22,000 barrels. there is frenetic activity on the scene every day, but almost no oil is recovered. people are buzzing around on quads, little dune buggy things, and of course, gigantic pickup trucks. there is even a helicoptor overhead once in a while. there are 8 vac trucks on scene, but are not being used anywhere near their potential. It appears to me (and to the other vac truck operators)that the company responsible for the spill (Pace Oil and Gas) is more interested in putting on a show of attempting to clean up, rather than making a serious effort. If there are any qualified fluid engineers, or spill clean up experts on the scene, I have not seen them. But I work night shift (7pm-7am) so there are supposedly some "experts" on scene during the day. Nevertheless, the cleanup effort does not seem legitimate. I have also not seen any government officials at all. If there are any paying attention to this mess, They do not seem to be leaning too hard on the company to get it cleaned up. D'oh Canada!

Follow by Email

Loaded Web

About Me

born into poverty in Montreal. (1933 was a bad year to be born.) Kicked out of school in grade 11. Became factory hand, office boy.
Did a general BA, mostly at night at Sir George Williams University, and partly while a youth worker for YMCA, camps, etc. Then teacher training at McGill.
Taught gradea 7 to 11 for six years. Loved it.
Quit to do MA at Acadia, then PhD (History) at Queen's.
Taught history three years at UPEI, then some 35 years at Concordia U in Montreal.
Loved the teaching. Thought the profs had more pompous and useless asses among then than is really desirable outside a zoo.
work experience:
factory, office,social group work, office,camp director, teacher.
Radio - c. 3000 broadcasts, mostly current events.
TV - many hundred appearances, mostly commentaries.
Film - some writing, advising, voice-overs.
Writing - no count, some hundreds. Some academic, but mostly for popular market, and ranging from short stories to stories to newspaper and magazine columns to history books.
professional speaker - close to 2000.
Awards for the above? yep