Tag: Canada

NaPoWriMo Day 4

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Politics, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

So Canada turns 150 this year! Here is my first tribute to the country that I am privileged to call home.

Canada 150

One hundred-fifty years ago,

my Canada began.

It’s dream of freedom and of peace,

a continent did span.

And now we stand here looking back,

at just how far we’ve come.

With some things we have come quite far,

and dropped the ball on some.

We are diverse, a varied lot,

who rarely can agree.

We argue, shout and brawl and such,

but no one shoots at me.

And half the time near half of us,

they want to leave the rest.

But then they slowly realize,

together, we’re the best.

So wave a flag and raise a pint,

to this grand land we share.

And if you doubt it is the best,

go try your luck elsewhere.

 

Cheers, Winston

Canadians Not Terrorized Enough?

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Politics, Society, Values1 Comment

I was just reading an article on Maclean’s  app about how indifferent most Canadians are to the threat of terrorism.  The implication being our need to take it more seriously.  The fact is, we shouldn’t.

Aside from a couple of highly publicized “threats”, Canada isn’t exactly a commonly declared terroist target.  It isn’t amping up the fear factor that the domestic plots appear to have been orchestrated by people with the technical and organizational skills of a sleep deprived chipmunk.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it couldn’t happen.  We don’t get any more of a free pass than anyone else.  I just don’t see it as really likely.  More to  the point, there’s not a thing I can do about it and frankly,  I’ve got better things to worry about.  Like a Prime Minister who feels that mumbling “Islamicist” is going to take my mind off the lack of employment in my immediate future.

Of course the average Canadian isn’t overly worried about terrorism.  We work in a job market where the idea of long term security is considered extinct.  Politicians boast about their job creation records without mentioning whether or not they pay a living wage, offer benefits, or have any career potential.  Young people graduate from secondary school unable to read, write or do even basic math.  This is supposed to be acceptable to us because technology is replacing these skills.  As someone who has experienced them in the workplace, I can assure you this isn’t the case.

There are so many real and immediate threats for the average Canadian to worry about that marginally possible terrorism doesn’t do it.  Even when our Beloved Leader trots out fun and unusual words like “Islamicist”.  It can’t be easy trying to scare people when  your bogeymen won’t cooperate.  I know a lot of people impacted by our economic and employment issues.  I don’t know anyone who’s been threatened by terrorists of any kind.

A foreign policy of military interventionism is hard to justify if the official bad guys aren’t really doing anything bad to you.  It’s even harder if the bad guys you’re trying to sell everyone on are not as bad or dangerous as others.  Muammar Gaddafi isn’t a nice guy nor has he been a benevolent ruler, but he’s no Kim Jong Il.  It’s just a lot easier and safer to bomb Libya.  Likewise, Afghanistan is far from stable and the Taliban were vile by any standard.  On the other hand, it is a rock solid, model of social justice compared to Somalia.  But again, invading Somailia hasn’t been so easy in the past.

North Korea is a nuclear state run by an absolute dictator who also happens to be an absolute nut.  Mr Harper feels this is less of an issue than the nebulous and ill defined “Islamicist”s.  Somailia has no functioning central government, and the only growth industry seems to be piracy.  They also have Al Shabab which is about as “Islamicist” as you get.  Not that it’s likely to be any quicker, more effective, or affordable than the fiasco which is Afghanistan.

So no, if the leader of the nation doesn’t want to address any actual terror threats, we the people aren’t likely to spare much energy for them either.  I mean really, what do they expect.  Do they truly believe that best way to Canada stay strong and vital is to drop bombs on Gaddafi supporters?  How is our pointless and over-extended invasion of Afghanistan creating jobs or improving the quality of life for ordinary Canadians?  Are they doing anything to encourage sustainable development in society or business?  Of course not.  They are useful mainly as distractions.  The contemporary version of the ancient Roman “bread and circuses”.

If Prime Minister Harper can keep us focused on events in Afghanistan, Libya or on “Islamicist” terrorists, we might not notice the real threat.  Contrary to popular (at least with Harper) belief, the greatest threat to our security is the erosion of our quality of life.  Declining education standards, a widening gap between wealthy and poor with a shrinking middle class, a job market defined by temporary/contract positions and health care cuts are just some of the things distracting Canadians from the “Islamicist” menace.  If our elected officials did their jobs and addressed these issues, maybe we could spare some concern for his “vaporware” terrorists.

That’s not likely to happen though.  Then again I’m not likely to lose any sleep worrying about the Prime Minister’s “Islamicist” bogeymen.  I get little enough sleep as it is worrying about my employment options.  Unless his paranoid delusions are going to land me a job, his sole relevance for me is relegated to providing me with fodder for this blog.  Not really what I look for in a leader, but about what I’ve come to expect from Mr. Harper.  I don’t have really high hopes for anyone who’s election campaign was based such classic staples as “in these troubled times, we need to stay the course”, and my personal favorite, “Vote for me because I’m not the other guy.”

No wonder Mr. Harper’s focusing on “Islamicist” terror.  With both the Liberals and new Democrats looking for leaders, there aren’t really any viable targets for personal attack ads.  That just leaves him with fear mongering.  If it weren’t for the teenie-tiny chance of a terrorist attack in Canada, the poor man wouldn’t have a sound bite available to toss out to the media.  Who knows, maybe then they’d ask about something that actually mattes.  Nah, probably not.

Cheers, Winston

UN Says Equal Opportunity Employment Legislation Is Racist

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Politics, SocietyLeave a comment

This one comes straight from the “They Said What?” file.

According to a recent article on Maclean’s magazine website, the UN has filed a formal complaint of racism against the Canadian government. After a thourough review of the dreadfully racist policy, a Canadian delegation must now appear before a UN review panel to explain our vile deed. Can you guess what horrible crime we committed? We passed legislation prohibiting discrimination in the workplace against visible minorities. Wow, are we evil, or what?

Apparently, the UN takes issue with the phrase, “visible minorities”. They believe it carries the implication that caucasians are the norm, and so demeans all other ethnicities. The legislation is actually designed to ensure equal treatment of all ethnicities in the workplace and provide a mechanism for resolving allegations of discrimination. Again, evil or what?

What the legislation says is: “It doesn’t matter if someone looks or sounds different from you. We guarantee you will be treated fairly in the workplace or else.” What the UN hears is this: ‘White people are the norm here and if you aren’t white, you aren’t normal.”

I’m not saying that Canada has a spotless record on human rights and equality. Our treatment of our indigeneous peoples is a historic disgrace which we are even now struggling to address. We have our share of social injustice. If we didn’t, we probably wouldn’t need legislation to guarantee rights to visible minorities, or women, or children. We arent’ perfect, but through this legislation and others like it, we are trying to change.

There are far more immediate issues to address, both here and elsewhere, than the wording of a document designed to protect people from harm. Of course not many of them are as easy as bickering about semantics nobody else really seems to care about. The UN is apparently okay with our opposition to discrimination, it’s our total failure to fudge the truth that has their knickers in a twist. The idea of visible minorities acknowledges two facts: caucasians are the majority ethnicity in Canada, and other ethnicies are visibly different from caucasians. That’s the big secret we let out of bag. According to the UN, by accepting that some people will discriminate based on the appearance of ethnicity, and in trying to prevent that, we are promoting racism.

Of course we are… because of our secret racist agenda. Like our other secret plan to undermine the UN misssion in Afghanistan by putting the brave and dedicated, men and women of our armed forces (including my nephew who went back three times and is one of my personal heroes) and a large number of non-military personel in harms way. See how totally evil we are? Good thing the UN is there to keep the world safe from us.

Maybe next time the UN wants some muscle they should ask Kim Jong Il. I’m guessing they won’t have to proofread too much legislation protecting minority rights in North Korea. Then they wouldn’t have to compromise their high moral standards by associating with a blatantly evil country like Canada.

I’ve lived here my whole life. Without the help of the UN, I might never have realized how evil we really are. That’s probably why they haven’t called to offer me a job with the Carefully Selected Transnational Panel To Find Fault With Countries That Support Us Because It’s Easier Than Dealing With The Unpleasant Ones. I don’t think I’d fit in anyway. I’m probably too evil because I’m Canadian.

Cheers, Winston

p.s. For the record I do support the idea of the UN. Unfortunately, the implementation of that idea, like many others, sometimes leaves something to be desired. For anyone not paying attention; this would be one of those times.

W