Potter Sees Rioters Everywhere… Literally

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Politics, SocietyLeave a comment

In an article posted Friday, regular Maclean’s columnist Andrew Potter states that riots happen because riots are fun. According to the article, we are ALL potential rioters. Whether it’s Vancouver after the Stanley Cup, or Britain’s recent riots, it’s just fun.

Thank you for clearing that up for everyone Mr. Potter. Here the rest of the world was thinking there might be some problems that needed to be addressed. Silly us! Now that we know it’s such a good time, we can all relax and stop “over-analyzing” things. While the rest of the world was looking at cultural or societal issues, The Amazing Mr. Potter realized THE TRUTH.

To paraphrase the classic line: “We have met the rioters, and they are us.” Apparently, all of us desperately want to chuck a waste-bin through a window and take what we want. Smashing, trashing, looting, mugging and burning; these are the things we want. Not comfort, security, peace. According to Mr. Potter, we all want to riot. Just because.

Aside from being a rampant apologist and incredibly naive, I do have a couple of other issues with this. How exactly did he conclude that all of us would riot if we could? Did he develop this awesome ability to read all of our minds at once? Or, is he just making it up to support his premise. I’m going to go with option two

Contrary to Mr. Potter’s claims, when I look around at the people I know, I don’t see hordes of potential rioters. A couple of them might, but not a majority, and absolutely not all. Maybe his people have a different set of values than mine. Maybe they get together every couple of weeks, have some beers and lament that there aren’t any nearby riots to join. Just for giggles and shits. I don’t claim to know for certain, but his article makes it seem likely.

The bigger problem is that his argument avoids the real reason for riots. It’s called personal responsibility. Maybe he’s right and we all want to join this big party, but most of us choose not to. Not every fan in Vancouver chose to participate in that riot. Nor did everyone in London, or Manchester, Toronto. People don’t riot just for fun. They don’t riot to protest social injustice or corporate greed. I’m dead certain they don’t riot over a hockey game or a football match. They riot because they choose to.

When you make everyone a villain, then there are no more villains. Anyone who smashes shops, burns businesses, cars and homes, they are villains. The person who assaults, loots, rapes or murders under cover of a riot, is a villain. People who choose not to join them, are not, it’s that simple. To claim rioters just do it for “fun” trivializes not only their actions, but also their victims. In case Mr. Potter is too delusional to notice, the people who are killed, injured, or have their property destroyed probably aren’t having any fun at all.

Not all of us are rioters. Not everyone thinks chaos is fun. Even among those who might think that, most people have one thing that separates them from the rioters, and apparently from Mr. Potter. Most people know that hurting people for your own enjoyment is wrong. It’s not the mob, it’s the individuals who make it up.

Each person makes a choice. Some choose to riot. Some choose not to. Some choose to make excuses. I choose to not to.

Cheers, Winston

Darn Missed Posting Yesterday.

On By WinstonIn PersonalLeave a comment

I apologize to the Post A Day Challenge communtity.   I missed my committment to post yesterday.  Anyone who has read some of my previous posts is aware, I have been recovering from surgery out of town.  I’ve been using my iPhone to post to this blog.  Lately, I’ve been posting late at night.  Last night, while composing the last of my post, my batter died.  By the time it had enough charge to restart, it was past midnight and I had gone to bed.

Despite missing one day, I remain committed to the Challenge.  You never know what life is bringing next, so I may not be able to post every single day, but I will continue to post every Possible day.  It’s a way of not seeing a setback as a failure.  I’ll be back tomorrow.  Unless something unforseen crops up.  Then I’ll be back the day after.  But as of going to press, it’ll be tomorrow.

Until Then 🙂

Cheers, Winston

Hackers Endangering Lives

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Society, TechnologyLeave a comment

The hacker group Anonymous has released a link to the names, addresses and passwords of 102 members of the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police force.

In July, members of the BART police force shot dead a homeless man whom they claimed lunged at them with a knife. The incident caused public outrage and led to protests at some stations. Protesters were open about their plans to use mobile phones to organize protests and track and avoid BART officers. In response, the transit authority disabled cellular towers at key locations stopping mobile services. The legality of this is currently being debated along with civil liberties issues, etc. Since the the hacker group Anonymous has staged two retaliatory attacks on BART. The first time, they defaced and shut down their customer services portal. The second time, they published personal information of the BART police officers.

I’m not condoning the shooting. I wasn’t there, so can’t know what happened. Likewise, I don’t agree with denying access to mobile phone services. Deliberately endangering the lives of over one-hundred officers and their families, that’s just wrong.

I’ll say this as plainly as possible. Anonymous may claim to be acting for what they see as the common good, but they aren’t. They are hiding behind the anonymity of the Internet because they are cowards and bullies. They are too lazy and scared to stand up and publicly work for real change. Instead, they choose to hide in the dark and throw their virtual stones. Instead of dialogue, they seek to use force to get what they want. They want people to see them as cyber heroes, bravely standing up to tyranny on the virtual frontier. The truth is, they are what they claim to oppose. A faceless group with zero accountability, doing whatever they feel like. By putting innocent lives at risk, they have shown themselves no better than the very worst of those they have targeted in the past.

It’s past time for law enforcement to deal with this. By actively endangering peoples lives, disrupting government and corporate infrastructure and stealing and publishing sensitive information, Anonymous has set itself up as being beyond any law. It’s time to set that straight. It’s time to acknowledge them as a terrorist organization with all that that implies.

If any member of the BART police force or their families is harmed as a result of this information being published, ANY member of Anonymous who is apprehended should be held accountable and punished to the full extent of the law. Specifically, those anti-terrorism laws no one likes. Those should work nicely.

Cheers, Winston

The Penguin And The Snake: a fable about self-acceptance

On By WinstonIn Self Awareness, Uncategorized3 Comments

If penguins are flightless birds, are snakes walkless reptiles?

The Penguin’s Parable:
“I cried because I could not fly, until I met a reptile who could not walk.”

Once upon a time, there was a penguin who was very sad that he could not fly. This sadness preyed on his mind so much that he decided to travel the world until he learned to fly.
During his journey, he encountered all kinds of amazing creatures. He sought out every sort of flying creature from the mightiest condor to the tiniest insect, but none could teach him to fly. When he realized that no one could teach him to fly, he collapsed in despair and wept bitter tears.
As he lay there, he saw a snake sunning itself on a nearby rock. Because he had spent all of his time talking to flying creatures, he had never seen a snake before. As he watched, the snake uncurled itself. To his amazement, he saw it had no legs.
“Excuse me.” said the penguin. “I have never seen a creature like you before. What are you?”
“I am a snake.” replied the snake. “I’ve never met a creature like you either. What are you?”
“I am a penguin. I’ve travelled a very long way to learn how to fly, but I’ve failed.”. Saying this, the penguin began to cry again.
“I am sorry that you are so sad,” said the snake soothingly to his new acquaintance, “but why do you want to learn to fly?”
“I’m a bird.” sobbed the penguin. “Almost all the other birds can fly, so I want to fly too.”
The snake was puzzled. “I still don’t understand. I am a reptile, and all the other reptiles have legs, but snakes don’t. I never thought of spending my life trying to get legs from other reptiles.”
The penguin’s crying slowed as he thought about what the snake had said. He thought about the friends and family he hadn’t seen in so many years. He thought of all the time he had wasted being unhappy with who he was, and realized the snake was right.
“Thank you my friend.” he said to the snake. “You’ve given me the answer to my problem!”
The snake was even more puzzled. “I’ve taught you to fly?” he asked.
“Even better!” exclaimed the penguin excitedly. “You’ve taught me how to not fly!”
Seeing the look on his new friend’s face, the penguin explained. “All these years, I’ve been thinking of myself as a bird first instead of a penguin. If I could fly like all the other birds, I couldn’t be a penguin anymore and then I would never see my family and friends or my home ever again.”
The penguin thanked the snake and hurried home to make up for all the time he had wasted.
As the snake curled up in the sun he thought, “If I could walk like that penguin, I might travel the world looking for legs.” but he didn’t. Instead, he slept in the sun and dreamt of flying.

The End

Why did the penguin walk across the road?
Flightless bird. Remember?

Why did the snake slither across the road?
To make his friend the penguin feel better about the flight thing.

Cheers, Winston

Quick Tips For Political Reform

On By WinstonIn Politics, SocietyLeave a comment

There is a growing sense of dissatisfaction with politics today. When politicians notice they start using words like, “reform” and “accountability”. Here in Canada, we actually had a Reform Party for a while before it got rolled into the Conservative Party. In the US, If a politician hears those words, he joins the Tea Party. At least until after the elections.

Speaking of elections, we recently had one. If you went by the tv and radio ads, the entire campaign can be summed up like this: “Vote for me because I’m not the other guy.”. Steven Harper’s Conservative’s won the election by having a more consistent message. It wasn’t about policy, but rather personality. “Michael Ignatieff (who left Harvard University to lead the Liberal Party) didn’t come back for you.” Really? I never would have figured that out on my own. The implication of course is that Mr. Harper gave up his life’s work, (probably something humble and humanitarian) and entered politics to make my life better. Steven Harper came to Ottawa for me! Or maybe not.

You see, I’m not convinced that Mr. Harper moved to Ottawa and became Prime Minister with my best interests in mind. I think he did it with Mr. Harper’s best interests in mind, maybe those of the Conservative Party. That’s the way of politics. But what if it wasn’t?

What if there were some way of encouraging our elected officials to put the needs of the voters first? What if the average person’s quality of life were more important than the party line? Impossible? Perhaps it is, but if anyone’s curious, think about this.

What if a politician’s pay were tied to the average income at their level of government? Federal pay would be the national average household income. Provincial / State averages would determine pay at their level, and Municipal wages would be averaged against similar sized communities nationwide. The idea is for politician’s to actually understand the people they represent.

But wait, there’s more. There are a few other conditions they need to agree to if they want to run for office. To start with, any pre-existing assets get frozen for the duration of their term. Yes, they get to live within their means like the rest of us. Speaking of living within their means, the average person doesn’t get to travel first class for business. Nor do they get to take their families, pets, hangers-on etc.

Without access to those pre-election bank accounts, they might find it a bit rough affording high-end private schools. Once their kids are enrolled in the same schools as all the others, they might see why other people are demanding education reforms. The list could go on, but you get the idea. The more they improve everyone’s standard of living, the more they improve their own.

I can hear some of you saying that we would lose a huge swath of potential candidates. You’re probably right. That’s kind of the idea here. Lawyers, corporate executives, and in the US, entertainment personalities, that’s who’s been running the show lately. If you like where we are at the moment, then ignore the whole idea. For the rest of you (including the 30+% who didn’t vote in the last election here) it’s something to think about.

So, you think you can make a difference and you still want run for office? Glad to hear it. To ensure you get a good sample of the “real world”, the minimum term of office would be five years. If you quit or get fired (yes, your constituents can recall you if you’re too incompetent), your assets remain frozen for the duration of your term. Think about that when you look at cuts to social programming because you could end up relying on it like so many others. On the other hand if you make it to the end of your term, what can you expect?

Here’s your chance to make some money. If you’re willing to work for it. There will be realtime tracking of your performance including attendance record, involvement on any committees, efforts on behalf of you constituents including success rates etc. All of these stats will be freely available to the public. By the way, if you’re thinking of using ads to tell your constituents what a great job you’re doing, be prepared to back it up with facts. Deliberately misleading the public is considered fraud and you will be fired for it with all that that entails. On a related note, graft or influence pedaling will result in corruption charges. A guilty verdict carries a ten year sentence and forfeiture of all assets. Now for the good news. If you work hard, serve your constituents and make every effort to genuinely improve the quality of life for the average person, it’s payday. You earnings for the term will be based on a combination of statistical (attendance, responsiveness, results, etc), with how your constituents feel you have impacted their lives. The better your composite score, the higher your performance bonus. You won’t become filthy rich, or receive a pension for life, but you will earn proportionally more than the average citizen who didn’t give five years of their life to the community.

I know this isn’t a perfect plan, but it is a “reform”. It would bring “accountability”. And isn’t that what the politicians, the media and the loud drunk at the bar all say they want? Just something to think about.

Cheers, Winston

It’s Not The Tech, It’s How You Use It

On By WinstonIn Society, TechnologyLeave a comment

Discovery News posted an article this morning that put a bright spot in my day. Apps are being created for smart devices to help people with autism and those who share their lives. They are designed to assist with a variety of activities including communication, organizing and remembering activities, and social interaction among others.

Where I work, we have provided work placements for people with autism. While the experience has been incredibly rewarding, it is not without it’s challenges. Having access to tools like these could help reduce the challenges and increase the rewards all around. that seems like a good thing to me.

I also want to give a big shout out to HP. This October they will be hosting “Hacking Autism”, bringing together families, researchers and scientists to gather ideas for further development. HP technologists will be volunteering their time to create the programs, which will then be released online.

For more information check out Autism Speaks at: http://www.autismspeaks.org/

Cheers, Winston

Lighter Thoughts

On By WinstonIn Humor1 Comment

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, should it get a panic button in case it happens again?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, are the protesters away at a press conference?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, are the chainsaws too loud?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it still feel bad for swearing?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, did it really fall, or is it making it up to get attention?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, will the government appoint a special commission into declining social involvement in our woodland communities?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, should they turn their iPods down?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, can the tree sue the forest ranger for negligence?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, is it a super secret new stealth tree?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, will it’s insurance still pay?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, was the gunfire too loud during hunting season?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, what’s everyone trying to hide?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, can you catch it later on YouTube?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, will someone still blog about it?

If this made you smile, thank my wife. It was her idea that I take a break from my usual stuff and spread my blogging wings. If you hated it, blame the writer.

Either way, I hope you have a great day.

Cheers, Winston

A Bad Habit Of Mine

On By WinstonIn Personal, Self Awareness4 Comments

When I discuss things I feel strongly about I often turn conversations into lectures. Anyone who knows me personally probably just said, “Really? No!” in a very sarcastic manner. It’s okay if they did, because I deserve it. Anyone who has read some of my other posts may have noticed it too. Too often, I speak or write in absolutes. I use “is”, “are” and “am”, instead of “might, “may” or “feel”. I’ve struggled for years to change, but it’s still an issue.

Why am writing about it now? A couple of days ago I wrote a post about Beluga whales, navel gazing and using this blog as a tool for personal growth. Then I went back to the commentary type stuff I enjoy writing. Today I was reminded of the need for some more growth.

My wife and I were out walking our dog and stopped to chat with some neighbors. The topic of Internet piracy came up. I gave my views. They gave their views. That should have been the end of it, but I couldn’t let it go. I broke out a lecture supporting my view. There were a couple of other points where I turned an enjoyable conversation into a lecture. Not many people enjoy being lectured. I know that, but I don’t even realize I’m doing it.

When we got home, Lynn told me what I needed to hear. Gently and with great care not to hurt my feelings, she told me what I had done. She worries that people who don’t know me will judge me by that one conversation. It hurts her to see people turn away without the chance to see the better parts of me.

I realized I’ve been doing the same thing here in this blog. Instead of trying to create a dialogue, I give my lecture on a subject and move on. That isn’t my intent, but in reading through my posts with fresh eyes, that’s certainly the feeling in some of them. I don’t see it when I’m writing, but now that I’m looking for it, I do. Instead of writing the beginning of the conversation I want to have with the reader, I’ve been writing conclusions.

Sometimes, I forget that a conversation has two sides. Sometimes, I sound (or read, as the case may be) like I think I have all the answers, even though I know I don’t. And sometimes, I’m just an obnoxious jackass.

I’m still going to post about the things that interest me. I’m just going to try to watch the absolutes. I want to create space for dialogue, instead of a big empty lecture hall with just the sound of my own opinions. Most of all, I want to stop letting the obnoxious jackass write my posts. If I can do that, maybe I can stop him talking to my neighbors.

If you see anything that looks like it was written by that guy could you let me know?

Cheers. Winston

Funding Fighters, Sort Of

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Politics, Society, WarfareLeave a comment

I love Maclean’s. Their app gives me convenient access to so much blog fodder I get inspired every time I open it.

Q: When is a mercenary not a mercenary?
A: When the US government says he’s part of a “private security firm” hired to train African Union troops serving in Somalia.

Bancroft Global Development is apparently one of a “growing number of such firms operating in the drought-ravaged and war-torn country”. Bancroft it seems “has been indirectly funded” to turn “bush troops onto urban fighters”. Since the AU troops were able to push Shabab forces out of Mogadishu (the capital) last weekend, it looks like money well spent.

I may have some issues with this clever way of getting boots on the ground without making it obvious to the American people.

The US government is well aware that the voters might not want to get involved with another expensive foreign adventure. Instead, they’ll send in rent-a-war. You may remember these guys from Iraq. Back the they were called PMCs. That stands for Private Military Contractors. I guess that sounded too Bush era, so now they’re “Development Firms”. The only thing these firms are looking to develop are huge paydays. No matter what the latest cute euphemism may be, they are pay-to-play mercenaries.

I don’t have anything against mercenaries or the people who hire them. Every major conflict that I can think of going back at least to the crusades has involved them. The problem is more one of motivation. Not for the “Development” people, they’re easy. I’m talking about the people paying them. You know, the US government. How does it benefit America to spend large sums of cash it doesn’t have, sending rent-a-war to Somalia? Did anyone say, “Fighting The Spread Of Radical Islamist Terror!”? Don’t be embarrassed, it just means you’ve been watching the news.

Officially, Al Shabaab is lumped in with all the other “Radical Islamist”s. This is like assuming the Pope is the same as convicted pedophile and polygamous, sect leader Warren Jeffs because they both talk about Jesus. What this group is doing in Somalia is an atrocity beyond my power to imagine. I just don’t think they’re a big threat to the US.

Maybe the American government just wants to ease the humanitarian crisis facing the country. After all, they’ve got a long and distinguished track record of using their wealth and might to selflessly fight oppression the world over. There was that time they went to North Korea to stop the government from starving the people. Oops, that wasn’t it. How about when they went into Rwanda to prevent genocide? Umm, not so much. The list goes on.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they owe the world anything. I’m just saying that when the US gets involved in an ongoing conflict, their primary goal is not usually to make life better for anyone but themselves. Nor should it be if they don’t feel the need to do so. The likelihood of benevolent motive gets smaller in light of the lack of publicity. If this was a feel-good humanitarian gig, there would have been press conferences and photo-ops galore. I read a lot of news, and so far, so quiet They aren’t keeping it a secret, just low profile.

That’s why this keeps coming back to motive for me. I’m certain there are any number of conspiracy theorists slaving away to answer this for me. I appreciate their efforts, but I doubt it’s going to be anything that interesting. I fully expect it to be the usual mundane one. Profit. I’m just curious to see what they expect that profit to be.

I’d like to finish with a little bit of humor. Given the cost of a rent-a-war, the sub-title of the article “Company’s Help Fight Islamists” proves Maclean’s.ca either has an awesome sense of humor or absolutely no sense of irony. You decide.

Cheers, Winston

Don’t Shoot The Doctor!

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Politics, Society, WarfareLeave a comment

On CNN’s website, I just read two current articles about attacks on medical personnel in conflict zones around the world. I understand their outrage. After all, until quite recently, it was understood by all involved forces that medical facilities and personnel were off limits. It was an entry level piece of every professional soldier’s training. Therein lies the problem. Most of the conflicts listed: Somalia, Sri Lanka, Columbia and Afghanistan to name a few, are being fought by amateurs.

The only “training” received by many of the combatants consists of basic weapons use and a lot of propaganda. They don’t possess our cultural history of regarding all things medical as neutral. By their understanding, everyone not them is either an enemy or a victim. Preferably both.

The International Red Cross has condemned the attacks. “Violence against medical facilities and personnel must end. It’s a matter of life and death.”, said Yves Daccord, Director General of the organization. He then explains that huge numbers of additional people are dying because these attacks prevent timely medical assistance.

A different article spoke of the need for communities to protect medical personnel. It advised using “unified community pressure to hold the perpetrators accountable”. Apparently this is intended to prevent further attacks on health workers. It’s based on traditional, community based tools for limiting internal strife. While I think this is a noble concept, I don’t think it will work any better than the head of the Red Cross telling them to stop.

Both approaches assume the perpetrators actually care what anyone thinks. If Al Shabab will block humanitarian aid shipments while thousands starve to death, do you really think they’re concerned about “community pressure”. The same is true everywhere. Those fighting to force society to conform to their views are probably used to being unpopular. I’m guessing no-one in these conflicts got the press kits announcing the unhappiness of the Red Cross, the World Health Organization and all the others. If they did, I can probably guess their reaction, and so can anyone else.

“If we attack medical facilities and personnel, we cause a lot of other people to die because they don’t receive care in a timely manner. That’s awesome!”. It’s like getting bonus value for every bullet and bomb they expend.

The outrage over these attacks, while genuine, is irrelevant for two reasons.

First, moral outrage requires a shared set of moral values. Otherwise it’s like a child on a playground telling the bully it’s not fair when he beats him up. The bully knows it’s not fair, that’s why he does it. If no one stops him, he’s going to keep doing it.

The second problem is the message. “Don’t Shoot The Doctor” is a noble sentiment. It also fails to address the real problem. When thousands are being murdered, starved, raped and brutalized; it seems naive to think that medical personnel, would be exempt.

All the condemnation and outrage aren’t going to make a difference. Anyone reading CNN, or seeing coverage of the press conference on the evening news, already knows it’s wrong to kill doctors. They also know it’s just as wrong to kill anyone else. This blog has as much chance of stopping the killing as they do, and with a much smaller budget.

If no one else is listening, maybe it’s time to change the message. If you want to claim the moral high ground you need to be a bit more inclusive. None of those who need to hear will listen, but I like this one better.

“DON’T SHOOT ANYONE!”

Cheers, Winston