People of a certain age will remember the old ad slogan, "Things Go Better With Coke." Apparently France disagrees, as it seeks to impose a minuscule tax on the sale of sugary sodas.
In an unusually bald and public attempt to pervert government policy, the Coca-Cola corporation is suspending plans for a $24 million dollar investment in France, pending the outcome of the proposed legislation. As well, it is embarking on a propaganda campaign questioning the relationship between the consumption of high-calorie sugar-laden sodas and obesity.
Perhaps we can only infer that by targeting France in this way, the mighty cola corporation is sending a message to all countries who might have the temerity to in any way compromise Coke's unquenchable thirst for profit.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
My New Anti-Asbestos T-Shirt
Obsessed and outraged as I am over the Harper government's ongoing sowing of death and disease through the export of asbestos to countries such as India, and inspired by the example of Michaela Keyserlingk in her efforts to promote a ban, despite the Conservative threat of a lawsuit against her, the other day I looked into how I could get a t-shirt sporting the anti-asbestos banners incorporating the Conservative Party logo that have sprung up in the blogosphere.
I found a company that allows you to design your own t-shirt by simply uploading the desired imagery, placing it virtually as you want it to appear on the shirt, and then ordering the end result. I am pleased with how mine turned out, as the photos below demonstrate:
Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.
I found a company that allows you to design your own t-shirt by simply uploading the desired imagery, placing it virtually as you want it to appear on the shirt, and then ordering the end result. I am pleased with how mine turned out, as the photos below demonstrate:
Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.
Sometimes The Tools Of Police Intimidation Are Not Physical
I have written twice before about the ordeal suffered by Po La Hay, the Burmese immigrant living in Hamilton who was both the emotional and physical victim of police after they forcefully entered his apartment in search of a drug dealer. Unfortunately, they had the wrong address.
The officer who was alleged to have inflicted the most serious injuries on Hay, Ryan Tocher, was charged with his assault but later had those charges dismissed, despite the fact that the presiding judge believed police had engaged in a coverup.
As reported in today's Spectator, Hay initiated a lawsuit against "more than 20 Hamilton police officers, Chief Glenn De Caire and the police board in August. His statement of claim alleges he was falsely arrested, imprisoned and hurt by police using excessive force. The short, slender man claims he still suffers from “debilitating” injuries sustained during the raid."
The Hamilton Police Force is asking the court to dismiss the suit, claiming that "Hay “provoked the application of force” by police during the raid." As I recall, Po's 'provocation' was to try to resist an unwarranted arrest, a resistance no doubt quite limited by his slight 59-year-old frame. This attempt to blame the victim for his injuries is especially odious, given how it harkens back to a time when women were often said to have been 'asking for it' when they were brutally raped.
However, the Hamilton Police are attempting to cover all of their bases. Should this request to have the suit tossed fail, they are also asking "the court to order the [currently unemployed] 59-year-old to pay legal costs for the defendants."
Not all tools of intimidation are physical.
Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.
The officer who was alleged to have inflicted the most serious injuries on Hay, Ryan Tocher, was charged with his assault but later had those charges dismissed, despite the fact that the presiding judge believed police had engaged in a coverup.
As reported in today's Spectator, Hay initiated a lawsuit against "more than 20 Hamilton police officers, Chief Glenn De Caire and the police board in August. His statement of claim alleges he was falsely arrested, imprisoned and hurt by police using excessive force. The short, slender man claims he still suffers from “debilitating” injuries sustained during the raid."
The Hamilton Police Force is asking the court to dismiss the suit, claiming that "Hay “provoked the application of force” by police during the raid." As I recall, Po's 'provocation' was to try to resist an unwarranted arrest, a resistance no doubt quite limited by his slight 59-year-old frame. This attempt to blame the victim for his injuries is especially odious, given how it harkens back to a time when women were often said to have been 'asking for it' when they were brutally raped.
However, the Hamilton Police are attempting to cover all of their bases. Should this request to have the suit tossed fail, they are also asking "the court to order the [currently unemployed] 59-year-old to pay legal costs for the defendants."
Not all tools of intimidation are physical.
Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Breaking 'News'
There is a story posted on the Globe website entitled, E-mails cite ‘directive’ to re-brand government in Harper’s name, which reveals that Dimitri Soudas lied when he denied a story circulating that orders went out to some civil servants last fall mandating that they use the term “Harper Government” in official government of Canada communications.
This is news?
This is news?
An Incredible Video
A friend of mine sent me this link. I urge you to watch it, as it is a potent reminder of our greatest strengths and our greatest weaknesses!
Political Partisanship Masquerading As Political Analysis
With the Ontario provincial election pending, more and more opinion pieces will find their way into both national and local papers. I certainly welcome a broad range of views to read and react to. However, it strikes me as the epitome of dishonesty for a columnist to pretend he or she is writing a political analysis when in fact the purpose is to advocate for a specific party or candidate.
Such is the case with Andrew Dreschel's column in today's Hamilton Spectator. Entitled Ontario could face coalition government, the article, by invoking the prospect of a coalition, transparently attempts to invoke the same kind of reactionary fear that Stephen Harper so effectively exploited on his road to a majority government. While I encourage everyone to read the piece, here are a couple of snippets that illustrate Dreschel's larger purpose:
Hudak might end up leading a minority government.
If so, the idea of an alternative governing coalition or at least an alliance between the Liberals and New Democrats may very well be in the cards.
He then goes on to remind the reader of the alliance that took place between Liberal David Petersen and then NDP leader Bob Rae that ultimately led to the disastrous Ontario NDP government, suggesting that Dalton McGuinty and Andrea Horvath could find sufficient common ground to partner:
As with Peterson, McGuinty’s generally seen as progressive — if you take the word to mean left of centre.
The sowing of fear has begun.
Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.
Such is the case with Andrew Dreschel's column in today's Hamilton Spectator. Entitled Ontario could face coalition government, the article, by invoking the prospect of a coalition, transparently attempts to invoke the same kind of reactionary fear that Stephen Harper so effectively exploited on his road to a majority government. While I encourage everyone to read the piece, here are a couple of snippets that illustrate Dreschel's larger purpose:
Hudak might end up leading a minority government.
If so, the idea of an alternative governing coalition or at least an alliance between the Liberals and New Democrats may very well be in the cards.
He then goes on to remind the reader of the alliance that took place between Liberal David Petersen and then NDP leader Bob Rae that ultimately led to the disastrous Ontario NDP government, suggesting that Dalton McGuinty and Andrea Horvath could find sufficient common ground to partner:
As with Peterson, McGuinty’s generally seen as progressive — if you take the word to mean left of centre.
The sowing of fear has begun.
Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
A New School Year Begins
There is no doubt in my mind that education is not what it once was. And no, this is not about to become a screed about the lowering of academic standards. Rather, it is only a recognition that like just about everything else, education has become a commodity, its value measured almost exclusively by its ability to lead to a good-paying job.
What's wrong with that, one might ask? While having a job that remunerates well is a desirable outcome, in my view, as a retired high school teacher, it should be one of the end results of a good education, not education's raison d'etre.
The classical notion of education, as a process whereby we gain the tools with which to interpret the world, is now considered a quaint notion, one that may be pursued by the wealthy, but one that has no practical place in the 'real world'. In other words, acquiring the tools for critical thinking, as opposed to the learning how to design something or to enter the business world, is largely considered to be a time-waster, something that will not serve one in good stead. That is how far we have deviated from and declined from real education.
And, at the risk of sounding like a wild-eyed radical, that departure serves the corporate agenda very well. Universities, once a breeding ground fermenting new ideas whose goal was to make us better as a society and as a species, has become so debased that it is now largely there to maintain the status quo, not to rock the boat. It no longer holds the potential for infusing society with new intellectual blood, but rather has become the silent enabler of the corporate aim, to serve the god of unfettered capitalism that masquerades as the friend to all.
So, on this first day back to school for so many, what can the average person do, hungry for change and challenge to what has become the status quo that has betrayed countless millions of North Americans? She and he can become educated and acquire critical thinking skills through the rigours of reading and informed discussion.
Here are a few suggestions to start off:
The Trouble with Billionaires – Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks
The Shock Doctrine – Naomi Klein
The Death of the Liberal Class – Chris Hedges
One warning to those who haven't read these works: approaching them with an open mind will inevitably lead to agitation, outrage, and a changed world view. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you will now begin to see 'the man behind the curtain.' I do not advise perusal at bedtime, unless the prospect of insomnia inspires no fear.
What's wrong with that, one might ask? While having a job that remunerates well is a desirable outcome, in my view, as a retired high school teacher, it should be one of the end results of a good education, not education's raison d'etre.
The classical notion of education, as a process whereby we gain the tools with which to interpret the world, is now considered a quaint notion, one that may be pursued by the wealthy, but one that has no practical place in the 'real world'. In other words, acquiring the tools for critical thinking, as opposed to the learning how to design something or to enter the business world, is largely considered to be a time-waster, something that will not serve one in good stead. That is how far we have deviated from and declined from real education.
And, at the risk of sounding like a wild-eyed radical, that departure serves the corporate agenda very well. Universities, once a breeding ground fermenting new ideas whose goal was to make us better as a society and as a species, has become so debased that it is now largely there to maintain the status quo, not to rock the boat. It no longer holds the potential for infusing society with new intellectual blood, but rather has become the silent enabler of the corporate aim, to serve the god of unfettered capitalism that masquerades as the friend to all.
So, on this first day back to school for so many, what can the average person do, hungry for change and challenge to what has become the status quo that has betrayed countless millions of North Americans? She and he can become educated and acquire critical thinking skills through the rigours of reading and informed discussion.
Here are a few suggestions to start off:
The Trouble with Billionaires – Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks
The Shock Doctrine – Naomi Klein
The Death of the Liberal Class – Chris Hedges
One warning to those who haven't read these works: approaching them with an open mind will inevitably lead to agitation, outrage, and a changed world view. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you will now begin to see 'the man behind the curtain.' I do not advise perusal at bedtime, unless the prospect of insomnia inspires no fear.
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