O-R-L-A-N-D-O. Find out what it means to me.

People standing outside Pulse during attack, Orlando, Florida

The names are being read. The final text messages from people trapped in a nightclub are being made public. This is what happens after a mass murder… and once again, I find myself sitting back as a mother, aching inside for what the families and loved ones of these victims are feeling. With Sandy Hook, I was heartbroken for those victims, for their families and for society. That has been my response to most of these shootings… because honestly they all start to blend into one for the observer. How very sad is that. Most of those shootings/bombings were carried out by very disturbed, misguided people who had access to guns. They were done by men filled with rage, misplaced rage.

Pastor Steven Anderson. If this doesn't scare you,

then nothing will.

This shooting made me mad. Actually, ‘mad’ doesn’t come close to what I felt inside that first day. Yes, this was again someone who clearly had mental health issues, but it was the result of absolute hate. This hate, over the last six months, has moved from the back burner where it has been smoldering for the last decades. Newly unleashed by political and religious machines, hate is modeled every damned day for us on television. Religious people stand on their pulpits decrying women, calling for the execution of gay people, damning and instilling abject fear of those who practice other religions. They demand freedom of speech, freedom to practice their religion, but they refuse to respect those rights in others. How can you preach the word of any God while not modeling respect for others… all others?

We have political people, screaming about the need to control women and what they do. They cheer when people are thrown out of rallies. They make open, blatant statements of what is wrong with other people, while offering absolutely no solutions to help anyone. They hide their nefarious activities required to do whatever they have to in order to obtain and/or maintain their position of authority. They have sprinkled water and a whole lot of fertilizer on those little seeds of hate, saying that it is okay to harbor that hate, and to act on it in whatever way necessary. Ask any child. They see this on television – the bigotry, the hate, the thuggery… and the fact that respect has been lost for all.

Websites make hobbies out of shaming people. We laugh at the pictures of the poor people shopping at WalMart, and their less than fortunate choice of clothes, but we don’t stop to think that these people have no choice but to shop at WalMart, that they are for the most part the disenfranchised of society, and that they are forced to shop at a place that prides itself in paying such low wages, their own employees have to live on handouts from others. Yet this is okay? They are a good corporate citizen? Do these religious and political leaders give a damn about these people? There is no respect shown for the employees there, or for the people who shop there. They are less fortunate than we are; it sucks to be them.

Brock Turner, Rapist... No, we won't forget about you.

You're not off the hook yet.

How can we be surprised that a white boy can rape a young woman and, because of his whiteness, his athleticism, and his clean-cut appearance he gets nothing more than a slap on the wrist – then has the audacity to complain about his sentence. (Yeah, it’s the last part that really gets to me – the plea for pity for his misguided ’20 minutes of action.) If he had been black, or poor, or Muslim, would he have gotten that same sentence? Fuck no. Not a chance. Rape is about control, about power, authority at any cost… and is a lifelong sentence to the victim. When are we going to respect the victims enough to stop making it about them, and start to focus on the rapist? When are we going to start looking at the disparity in a system that treats white different than black, rich different than poor, Christian different than Muslim?

Machine Gun America... a theme park, no less, ironically

(or not) in Orlando Florida.

How can we be surprised when a young man goes into a club that he had frequented himself for some time, pulls out a gun and opens fire, killing 50 people, injuring 53 more, shattering countless thousands of lives? You cannot turn on the television anymore without someone telling you who to hate and why. Now they want this act to be considered religious terrorism because the man screamed out religious phrases as he carried out this heinous act. Lemme ask you this. If he had been Christian and was quoting Leviticus at the time of the shooting, would people still be calling for it to be a religious terrorist attack? They should. I would like to think they would, but I know better. If this slaughter had been done by a right-wing fundamentalist Christian, his religion would not be an issue.

The day after the shooting, after the anger had waned, I felt nothing. My soul felt like scorched earth, because something more happened this weekend. Like Brock Turner last week, like the San Bernardino shootings before, and Sandy Hook before that, and Columbine before that, the interest will fade. Politicians will block bills to make changes. Mental health issues will still be ignored. Donald Trump will still exude hate and bullying. Hillary Clinton will still defend her right to destroy government emails. The GOP will continue wringing their hands at the clusterfuck of a mess they have now found themselves with their extremist sellouts and because they chose to dance with the devil to make some points over the last 8 years. The Democrats will continue to play games with primary results and their convention in their determination to ensure that Hillary is on the ticket. Gay people will quietly step back, many of them looking at that closet door and wondering if that isn’t the wiser choice. Mothers will send their babies, be they 5 or 25, out the door, never to see them again because some other person with some other gun has been listening to the hate-filled, take no prisoners rhetoric that is spewed every day by religious, political and pundit figures.

Pro-Life? No, not at all. Pro-Birth. What happens after the

baby is born is absolutely no concern of theirs.

I am devoid of feeling, because we have long passed the tipping point, and that realization has nestled in my heart. There is one thing… one thing only… that is needed to fix all of this. It sounds so simple. It should be simple, but apparently it is unattainable. That one thing is respect. We need to show respect for others, for their political beliefs, their religion, their sexual choices, their life choices, and their problems. We need to start to take ownership of our global community, and that requires us to accept and respect each and every one of us. If you want freedom of religion, then you must allow others to enjoy that same freedom even if you do not share the same religious tenets. If you want to lead the country, you must show respect for the people you wish to lead – ALL of them. If you want to cover the news, you should do so respectfully, with balance and without agenda. Regardless of color, religion, mental capacity, physical ability, race, or sexual orientation, it all comes back to one simple little thing: treat others as you wish to be treated. Walk a few steps in someone else’s shoes before you belittle them. Remove the excuses for hate.

I am scorched earth… because no one is addressing the elephant in the room. The shooting in Orlando was a hate crime. It was not ISIS. It was not Muslim terrorist. It was a man who was Muslim who hated gay people. His hatred could have been based on his religion. It could have been triggered by the MANY Christian leaders who spew the same hate from their pulpits every week. The religious aspect is nothing more than an excuse to keep us from talking about the reality. Hate runs rampant; respect for others is gone. By all means, fly your flags, light up your buildings, change your profile photos to show solidarity, but please, this time, do not let it stop there.

On Terror

It’s time for a little reality check, people. It’s time to talk about terror... just a few home truths for you to mull over, because pretty soon, if we don’t pull our heads out of our asses, it will be too late.

Terrorism is the only thing we hear about on the news now. It’s all politicians are talking about, spewing their excuses for a new bill that will rob us of our privacy and our rights. You think it won’t impact you because ‘you’ve got nothing to hide’? Well, think again, and start paying attention. Get a copy of the bill and see what it does, what it allows, how it tromps merrily on your legal and human rights even if you are doing nothing wrong or you have nothing to hide. Read about how it offers nothing to enforcement that isn’t already there (other than demanding accountability). For Christ sake, we know that 6 kids just went to the Middle East to join ISIS. How much more do they need to tap into our privacy? Obviously what is already in place is working.

We have not had a terrorist attack, in the political parlance, in Canada. Neither of the two events of last fall, though tragic and horrifying, were ‘terrorism’. Murder? Absolutely. Heinous? Without doubt. Terrorism? Absolutely not! Actually, let me correct myself – we HAVE experienced terrorism in Canada. More than fifty women experienced it at the hands of Robert Pictin for years until someone actually decided to pay attention. More than 1300 Indigenous women have experienced it, and the rest live in terror, because no one is prepared to do one damned thing about them or who is murdering them with impunity. Apparently terrorism against First Nations, something that is very real in this country, takes a back seat to hype and political posturing to pass draconian laws, making us the new Russia. There’s a handle we really want to bear. Harper/Putin, Putin/Harper – sort of makes no difference now, does it?

Instead of buying into these red herrings that are intended for two purposes, and two purposes alone (neither of which involves giving a damned about you, by the way), pay attention to what they are trying to get you to not look at. That’s the first step. This ‘war on terror’ is about having a means of ruling through fear and distracting us, and it supports the old adage that war is money. If you think that there aren’t about a dozen people in North America getting extremely rich out of all this hoopla, who aren’t sitting there rubbing their hands at every mention of the ISIS or ISIL, because it means the taps are free-flowing cash into their bank accounts, then you really are not paying attention. Today’s wars are about money, and nothing more. Just check out the accounting ledgers for Dick Cheney and Halliburton if you have any doubts about this truth.

But let’s also consider the terrorists. Yes, ISIS does exist. Why? And why does no one ask why? If... and this is getting to be a pretty big if... if we had true journalists, they would be learning and sharing the basics. They wouldn’t be beating the same story over and over, telling us how scary these people are, glorifying them and their cause in the eyes of young people searching for something... anything... to explain the hardships they face in their own lives. Who supports ISIS and where do they get their money? Hmm, yeah, they won’t bother with that one because of the deal struck with the Saudis years ago. We send weapons and military supplies over there, despite our own laws that state we cannot provide those things to any country that has a poor human rights record. Where else do they get their money? It’s time to look into that, and no, I don’t mean the $15 bucks someone sends them because their mosque got vandalized and they are upset. They have real money, and they are getting it from somewhere.

But again, let’s look at why. Why is this happening? Well, for starters, we have judges now in Canada who partake in religious persecution, refusing to allow a woman to wear a scarf over her head in a courtroom... even go so far as to say that it is the same as sunglasses or a ball cap. That would NEVER happen to a Catholic nun wearing a wimple in the same damned courtroom. Obviously the first battle in this fight against terrorism is to beat down our own ignorance. How about we learn something about these different religions so we understand the purpose of a hijab or why men wear a turban? Seriously, it’s a bad day when you don’t learn something new, so let’s start. Instead of taking religion out of the classroom, bring them ALL in, teach about all of them, because in understanding them, the fear goes away. When the fear goes away, all of the asinine prejudices also go away. Hatred and fear go hand in hand. One is the tool of the other. Education goes a long way to stopping both. It’s not an attack on Christianity to learn and appreciate other religions. If you are that insecure about your own faith, you have bigger problems than terrorism. You think there is a war against Christianity in North America? Yeah, well, that’s really just a convenient excuse to justify your hatred. Don’t try coloring it any other way, because you are fooling no one.

How about we demand our politicians deal with some of the other issues that feed terrorism? How about we demand that they deal with the outdated and prejudicial laws that result in the overcrowding of prisons? How about we guarantee that people of other religions and cultures are STILL entitled to the same human and legal rights we are? How about we demand they address the issue of affordable education, housing, and child care? Create programs for children to help them express themselves and to help them learn even more, so they don’t end up in gangs or prison. Teach inclusiveness; it has to be better than the platter of divisiveness and hatred the politicians and media serve up every damned day. How about we start easing the tax burden on regular people, and insist in fair pay for a day’s work? Keep giving corporations their tax cuts, but for keeping jobs at home and demanding they pay a wage that people can truly live on. We’re all struggling, as costs of energy, housing, food, clothing all go up, and wages stay stagnant for years.

How about we start worrying about the environment, if for no other reason than it will cut back on health care costs and on time lost at work for sick days? You want a fiscal reason to give a shit about what we drink and the air we breathe? There you go! What about getting rid of the GMOs and chemicals in foods – you know, the ones the government shoved down our throats with their asinine, self-serving deals with companies like Monsanto? Why is someone who wants clean water called an ecoterrorist, but the people who fill our food and water with harmful, unnecessary crap are not considered terrorists at all? How many people have died from poisoning or cancer from what is in their food, water, or air? One hell of a lot more than have died from terrorism here. Young people are robbed of hope right now, and who can blame them? They know there needs to be change and trying to work within the political system just isn’t doing the job anymore. They see politicians for what they are, they see the examples of extremism set by politicians and religious leaders, and they figure that’s the only way to combat the problems.

Yes, there are huge issues in the Middle East. If we stop playing the petroleum game, though, a lot of those will stop. If we start caring about poor countries without oil, and help them to develop, there is another nail in the ISIS coffin. If the Canadian government follows through on the pledges of aid that were promised, instead of conveniently putting that money into their ‘slush’ ledger to then claim as money raised against the deficit, we again help others fight ISIS, or Boko Haram, in their lands. We have more than enough oil here to be self-sufficient, especially if we start to embrace green energies, implementing them to take that much more pressure off fossil fuels. When the hell did the principles of green energy and environmental awareness make us the enemy of a whole nation? Think about this for just one minute. Why is it wrong to want to protect our planet and our lives? No one is saying that there can be NO oil or gas, but it should be done reasonably and responsibly. We’re going to look pretty damned dumb when we have oil spurting everywhere, but we’re all dead because we have nothing to drink, or we all have cancer from our polluted waters that are used as toxic dumps for mines.

Start paying attention to these little basic facts, and all of a sudden we won’t have the issue of terrorism raising its head. Start to deal with health issues and mental health issues, add some respect and tolerance, have a media that spends as much time on stories about the environment as they do right not on terrorism (and yes, they do cherrypick which stories they cover. Don’t let the bamboozle you otherwise), and suddenly you have no reason for people to want to go to the Middle East to join radical organizations. Toss in some compassion, education, and not looking at every god damned shiny bit of foil the government tosses at us to be distracted – that’s how we combat terrorism; not with bills that rob us of our own human rights and put us at even more risk. When ANY government proposes that there are only two extremes to an issue – you either support them unquestioningly or you are ‘soft on terror’ – they are being 100% disingenuous with you. They are lying to you, and that is why they feel the need to rely on extortion. What we’re doing right now, with talk of the war on terrorism and C-51 and the fear mongering our government and media has gotten so good at, is ensuring that this battle will go on forever, and the taps of cash will flow non-stop into those dozen bank accounts in perpetuity. 

Enough is Enough for Our Canada

Remember being in school and learning about how horrible it was that the Russian government controlled the media? We heard the word Pravda, and learned it was about propaganda and a corrupt government. Remember how horrified you were when, a few years later, you studied about how a man named Adolf Hitler was elected to public office, and about how under his regime the poor and challenged were persecuted, how books and scientific data were destroyed, about how people were persecuted because they weren’t part of the perfect race? We shook our heads in disbelief because in our world, in our Canada, this could never happen. Remember when elections were discussed, and how in some countries the process was fatally flawed, making a mockery of the entire exercise as blatant election fraud ruled the day? Canadians were called in to help organize and oversee elections because of this, because we so valued the ability to make that little X on a piece of paper. Remember learning that in some places in the world, to speak your mind or to stand up for what was right was a sure death sentence, or at the very least a ticket to jail, with no legal process, for a lot of years? We actually scoffed at that. In Canada, individual voices and opinions would always be welcome, and if someone stepped out of line, if someone broke the rules by trying to silence us or lock us away, we simply would not let that happen. We were Canadians. We were proud, and we had reason to be.

Canada had the model health care system. We had one of the best education systems in the world. We were innovate, warm, caring members of society. Other countries talked the talk about equality and inclusion, about fairness, welcoming the downtrodden, feeding the tired and hungry; Canada walked the walk. When we said we would send disaster aid to countries in the midst of disaster, we actually sent the money. When we sent Canadian men and women to protect and defend, promising to take care of them and their families because of our respect and gratitude for their sacrifice, we lived by our bond. When other countries needed peacekeepers and mediators, we were the go-to guys, because we respected human life and humanity. We said those horrible things that happened in other countries, in those backward countries run by greedy war mongers and thuggish dictators, could never happen here, because we knew daily, intimately, thoroughly that the rights and the lifestyle we enjoyed had been secured for us through the blood, sweat, and lives of other Canadians, and there was no way in hell we would let them down, or gamble with that precious gift they gave us. No, this could not happen; not in Our Canada.

Well, now it’s all reality. The mere fact that I write this blog, once bill C-51 passes, means that I am... wait for it... a terrorist. Let that soak in for a minute then consider how we got to this point in our world. The mere mention that our government is wrong, and that we should not sit idly by as absolutely everything Canada has stood for, and that Canadians have died for, makes me... a terrorist. Because of this, once bill C-51 passes, I will not be entitled to any of my legal rights. They can tap my phone, bug my house, park drones outside my windows, intercept my emails and every private conversation I have now, requiring no legal justification and with absolutely no oversight from any judge, because I am involved in terrorist activity. The government, when asked for a definition of terrorism, thuggishly told us we should ‘look it up’. Stalin would be giddy! When it was said that ‘of course legal protest’ would not be included, then why is that not stated in the Bill? When asked questions about the bill, we are called unpatriotic and it is claimed that we love terrorists... because we are their brethren. How better to silence anyone who disagrees with your policies or what you are doing to Our Canada than to create a law that allows you to circumvent all other laws. We ridicule countries where bloggers are sent to prison for blogging, where kangaroo courts are the order of the day because the judges are in the despots’ pockets. We marvel that there are still countries where people are imprisoned without cause but because they state to someone else a truth, yet we now allow this in Canada?

Terrorism is a political red herring. Wake the hell up, people. The attacks in Ottawa in the fall of 2014 were NOT terrorism. The provisions in Bill C-51 are NOT about terrorism and will do nothing new to stop it. The authorities already have the tools, the laws and the means to do their jobs. C-51 is about silencing Canadians, about making us completely impotent to change our situations or to hold the government to account. C-51 is about controlling people, allowing them to be locked away without cause, without a warrant, without regard for any legal right or precedent. Yeah, ISIS exists. Ask yourself why. In your answer, you will find a large part of the solution. ISIS exists because our governments let it. War is money – governments know this. Yes, it costs you and me, the taxpayers a lot of money, and yes, there are those who pay much more with their lives and their limbs, but war exists because there is good, easy money to make. All you have to do is fling around the word ‘Patriotism’ and you can shame people into letting you do anything.

If the governments wanted to stop ISIS, they would simply turn off the tap. That’s the first step. Stop supplying our ‘friends’ in Saudi Arabia with weapons, money, and military equipment. Oh, wait... even though we KNOW they are providing supplies to ISIS, we just signed another deal with them... even though it is supposed to be illegal for people in our country to sell any of this shit to any country that has a questionable human rights record. We did it anyway... brokered by our government... despite our own laws and our own intelligence. Stop giving these countries money for their oil – invest in green and alternate energies. This one is a no-brainer. If they don’t have the oil money coming in, they shrivel up and die. The investment in alternate energies and green energies, also creates jobs at home, and that works a long way to the other key component – respect. Respect other religions, other people, and they have no reason to hate us. Address the issue of disenfranchisement, of mental health care, of environmental destruction, of a rapidly growing poor population and give them a reason to now look for alternatives to survive, other than to take drastic steps to stop the government. Take away the reason for people to want to terrorize us, instead of adding a dozen more reasons for it.

Terrorism is convenient though. It scares people, and scared people are blind people. We’re so busy running that we can’t take the time to turn around and see what the hell we’re running from. It’s convenient for governments to rule through fear – there is a long list of thugs who have done that through the centuries. It’s a well-known tactic. If we look at the scary terrorists, we don’t see the failing the economy, the growing cronyism, the patronage, the abuse of power, the disregard for human and legal rights, the destruction of democracy, the lack of jobs, the lack of education and health care, the growing prisons and the money they generate for so few, the burgeoning profits of the banks and the oil companies. We so busy being afraid of beards, and gathering places, and pieces of clothing, and books, that we absolutely are not looking at what we should really be fearing, before it’s too late. Sadly, the process adds justification and feeds the terrorists, and the new definitions of what terrorism now is absolutely insults those who have lost their lives fighting real terrorists.

Not in my Canada? That was the dream. Now it is the nightmare, The only way to stop it is to risk everything – by speaking out. 

Perhaps the Horse Needs Obamacare?

DATELINE: THE HORSE IS DEAD BUT WE ARE STILL WATCHING THEM FLOG IT – On March 23, 2010, in the United States, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) became a reality. That’s how it works in politics – bills are proposed, presented, voted on and either passed or rejected. Not everyone is happy about it; that’s also how it’s supposed to be. Those who saw problems with the bill should accept that the majority had spoken, and turn their attention to helping make the program as effective and efficient as possible. That’s their job. That’s what they are paid to do – for bills they like and the ones they don’t like. Let’s face it, there is nothing that will be passed through any political body that makes everyone happy; that’s simply not possible. Those opposed have perspective, though, and should then use that to help make it the best possible.

Since March 23^rd, 2010, there was a presidential election. Because that election returned Obama to the oval office, his PPACA was, in essence, given majority approval by the population of the United States. Nevertheless, also since March 23^rd, the US Congress, led by John Boehner and the GOP, has voted AGAIN on the Affordable Care, not once, not twice... but 42 times. This by itself is inconceivable. No other bill in no other government has gotten 42 do-overs, still losing every one, yet still insisting on one more kick at the cat.

While they are doing this, issues of banks run amok are not addressed (then again, with Mrs. Cruz being a regional director for Goldman Sachs, Teddy certainly doesn't want to see the banks regulated). Issues of unemployment and underpay are not addressed. Issues of national security are not addressed. Issues of paying the military are not addressed. Instead, these petulant children are still stomping their feet, throwing a temper tantrum that they did not get their way. This sort of dedication is not impressive; instead it begs the question ‘what is really motivating these morons?’

Now though, the GOP has attached a rider to their attempt to quash PPACA. They have decided that if they don’t get their way, they will refuse to make available the money necessary to keep the country running. That means that, first and foremost, those people in the military will again take it on the chin. It means that those who depend on their pension checks are out of luck. It means that crime will run amok as prisons are unattended. Think about what your government does... then imagine no one doing any of that. This is a tactic that will not hurt any corporation and it will not hurt anyone sitting in Congress or the Senate because, well, they have already taken care of themselves.

Ted Cruz stood for 22 hours in a very deliberate attempt to stop the wheels of congress, to stop debate and discussion. He talked about the outrage of the people of the country because nothing is being done. HOW THE HELL DARE HE! He said that the people of the country are getting frustrated. HOW THE HELL DARE HE! He is reading Green Eggs and Ham, a book about trying things that you are 100% opposed to, as he throws his tizzy about having to swallow ‘Obamacare’. Wow. Absolutely everything he is doing is blatantly a slap in the face to the working, struggling people of the country, and he knows it.

Ted Cruz’ actions would be less disingenuous if he offered options to the problems he sees with PPACA. He would have much more credibility if, rather than supporting the gouging insurance companies and taking political contributions from big pharmaceutical companies. If he wasn't firmly and comfortably ensconced in the pockets of Corporate America, people might give a shit about what he has to say. His objections have nothing to do with the working people, the sick people, the tired people, the struggling people or the retired people of America.

Conveniently enough, issues like oil pipelines can’t be discussed or debated – they don’t want that because that might mean scientific and statistical information might come out that doesn’t support their position. They can’t discuss GMO’s and fracking, things that can and will kill hundreds of thousands of people, while politicians sit back and plead ignorance about letting the companies doing these things run roughshod through peoples’ lives. There are too many issues that they just don’t want to deal with, so let’s waste time flogging an already long-dead horse.

So, neglecting their duties for two years, while pulling in huge paychecks and donations from their corporate sponsors, while people continue to suffer in ways that they should not be suffering, wasn't enough. Playing silly-bugger with the government finances, imposing even more hardships on retired people and the military while they carry on with this charade of legislating FOR the people was not enough. That wasn't enough of a threat. It didn't work, so now they threaten to shut down the entire country. I guess you don’t have to look very far to find those new-fangled American home-grown terrorists, because they ARE playing with peoples’ lives, they are threatening livelihoods and ways of life and they are using fear and trying to force capitulation. Beware the enemy within.

The GOP has more than proven themselves to be nothing more than self-serving thugs. In essence, all thugs are self-serving; the only way to stop them, though, is to have someone with the balls to stand up and be counted, to say ‘Enough!’ Washington is, apparently, infested with thugs – corporate and political. Sadly, I have no idea who the hero will be in this scenario, who will stand up for the people, who will actually do what he/she took an oath to do. All evidence so far, though, shows that it will not be Obama. He was a man who talked the talk, but he sure as hell doesn't walk the walk. More’s the pity, and good hardworking Americans continue to foot the bill. 

Corporate Greed Kills Again

DATELINE: WADING THROUGH BANGLADESHI RUBBLE – Today the death toll from this disaster hit 551. Give that some perspective… This is now more than one-sixth of the total number of people killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers, which were one hell of a lot more than six times taller than the building in Bangladesh. These are people who, despite knowing it was unsafe to be in there, were forced in by their employer, who, by all accounts was nothing more than a criminal thug. How is this not, in essence, a terrorist attack?

This is a building where, from the get-go, there were many concerns. The land that the building was constructed on was reportedly obtained through less than legal means. The contractors were bought off, as were any regulators in the city. The sole intent of this building was to house slave labor, used to create crap to sell to Canada and the United States… and we took the bait. Stories were illegally, and unsafely added to the building, but did anyone who contracted this company demand to see that it was safe for the employees? No, because that would imply they cared and might hold slimedog millionaire thug boss to a standard that could increase the cost of a pair of underwear by a fraction of a cent. But we… as citizens… know this is happening and we demand no better of the corporations, despite the age old rule that the customer is always right. Like the corporate big-wigs, though, it’s easier to pretend it’s all fine or it’s someone else’s problem, or that we really don’t have all the details and perhaps these people are thrilled to work for less than a dollar per 12-hour day. Let me ask you this one question, though; had that building been built on North American soil, what would have been the reaction? We are accomplices in 551 deaths. That number is expected to rise further.

To be fair, it’s hard for many of us to make ends meet now. The banks make record profits, the oil companies are making record profits, but collective bargaining is quashed when it works to represent the laborer, and wages do not go up. Yes, we are all looking for a way to stretch our dollars, but we have allowed corporations run amok, stomping on the lifeblood of society, not just here, but abroad. Funny thing, but those CEO’s and boards of directors aren’t in any need of a bargain.

The last month in Canada has seen a huge uprising against the banks, primarily the Royal Bank of Canada, for bringing in what are essentially illegal Temporary Foreign Workers, using their Canadian staff to train them, then firing the Canadian staff and shipping the TFWs, and many more jobs, out of the country. It exploits a huge loophole, deliberately created by the Harper Conservative Government here, to line the pockets of corporations even more, because those jobs, once outsourced, are in crap buildings, with thug bosses, no benefits, slave conditions and clear consciences because the corporation isn’t ‘responsible’ for what happens there. They aren’t technically ‘our’ workers, so we can exploit them all we want, and the bank gets richer. It’s despicable, on every count. We have known it was going on, but we have done nothing because what can one or two people accomplish against corporate giants who control our money and our laws.

Now, because of the disaster in Bangladesh, those companies who have used this factory for making clothes, who have ‘toured’ it and ‘inspected’ it, who have met with the thug who runs the place with a god damned gun handy to keep people in line, are now running scared. Sadly, they won’t be legally responsible, but they sure as hell should be. Not only did they take jobs away from people right here, they contributed to the abuse and enslavement of thousands of others, in lands where they are absolutely desperate for any crumb the fat cats can toss their way, and who have no choice but to endure the abuse. This is the equivalent of Blood Diamonds in every way.

So, now Target, and Loblaws, and WalMart et al, cannot just wash their hands of this. They said they inspected and it all looked fine. Well, perhaps when they ‘inspect’, they might want to actually take off the fucking blinders and LOOK at what is around them. People who are wearing tatters at work, who are starved and dirty and emaciated, just might not be getting a fair shake from their employer, who works at your behest. Perhaps you should look at how long they work every day, how crammed they are in their work… talk to some, look at the lash marks they have for not working fast enough, check to see if that child you were told is 16 isn’t really 10, like he looks.

The reaction will be to pull out of Bangladesh. We all know that’s what will happen, and they will find some other country to exploit, leaving even more damage in their wake. We SHOULD be giving work to some of these people – but at fair wages in a safe workplace. Why are the standards there any different than what they are here? How in the name of all that is fucking holy can that be justified? Is there absolutely no moral compunction in any corporate head or politician anymore? What has happened to us, as a society, that we aren’t satisfied screwing over our own citizens that we have to go to other countries to do it as well, to make money. We see the gang wars, the drug wars, the thugs trying to gain control – corporations are absolutely no different, other than for the cut of their suits.

If workers make money, they spend money. That is how a capitalist society is to work. It is not meant to wipe out the lower classes, the working class, the middle class – it is meant to provide a comfortable, safe existence for all who live there. Man, have we missed that boat. How are we not guilty of a terrorist attack on foreign soil? I can’t see how the people of Bangladesh can see it any other way.

Jewish Persecution -- The New Spin

DATELINE: IN SCHOOL, LEARNING TERRORISM FIRST-HAND – Terrorism is nothing new to the people of Israel. They have lived with attacks, physical, religious, personal and otherwise for centuries. The Jews have been on the receiving end of genocide and persecution for generations, going back to the beginning of time. You would THINK they understand, then, that absolute hatred is the worst evil our world has to offer, wouldn’t you? Apparently for the extreme orthodox Jews of Beit Shemesh, a little town outside of Jerusalem, they want to give even better than they get. The subject of their hate-filled, vile, ignorant ire? The Orot Girl’s Elementary school. Yes, these grown men with their ringlets and their black hats, stand outside the school waiting for these little girls and their mothers. When they arrive, the girls are called sluts and worse, they have stones, tomatoes and, yes, even shit thrown at them as they go to and from school. These are little girls going to school. These are orthodox Jewish children being terrorized on a daily basis by grown Jewish men who SHOULD know better.

It’s amazing – I use the word amazing because that would be more politically correct than saying that it is absolutely beyond all fucking logic and common sense – that the minute ‘ultra’ or ‘extreme’ are added to any religious belief, the common tenets of all religions suddenly doesn’t apply. All of us, regardless of who is the Big Guy, are taught the ‘Golden Rule’. We all have the same holy edicts about murder, love, hate, respect… until we become a radical; then its every man for himself. We kill, haunt, terrorize, torture, mutilate, steal, and lie just to prove that our God is better than your God. How fucking stupid is that? It’s not ultra or radical or extreme…. It’s rabid, and at that point it has absolutely NOTHING to do with religion and everything to do with man’s ability to control other men, religion be damned.

In Beit Shemesh, these men scream at the girls that they are defiling the neighbourhood, that they are immoral. Of course, throwing shit and slutty comments at little girls certainly sets the low water mark in the immoral and defiling categories, so I guess these men would be considered experts in the matter. These children are 6 to 12 years old.

So, is this hatred, this abuse, this intolerance REALLY about the way a six-year-old girl dresses to go to school – which by all standards is incredibly modest to say the least? Hell no. This has nothing to do with that. This has everything to do with… what else could there be in Israel… who controls the land. Beit Shemesh is considered an ultra-orthodox community and they do not want this sort of school anywhere around them, not even on the outskirts of their little piece of fucking heaven, so they scream and abuse LITTLE GIRLS in order to make them leave. Schoolyard bullies, eat your fucking hearts out.

We have seen the tactics of the Westboro Baptist Church in North America, we have lived the absolute horror of the attacks on US soil by Muslim extremists, we watch the news every day as people stand up to and die because of Sharia laws, we watch the struggle every day in the Middle East as good people strive to find a means in which everyone can live in peace, we listen to political extremists spew their hatred and political bullshit that has nothing to do with the issues of people living together on this planet and everything to do with the obtaining and maintaining of power and authority to tell others how to live their lives.

There is NO God in any heaven who wants to see little children tortured in any way. There is NO God in any heaven who would teach for one minute that it’s okay to kill people in whatever wonderful way these assholes come up with, because of the clothes someone wears or the direction they kneel in to pray.

A very wise man once told me that ‘spirituality is God’s creation; religion was created by man’. Religion, it seems, was created by man, for solely selfish purposes – the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has proved that repeatedly. The men of Beir Shemesh may consider themselves religious – the sure as hell are nowhere near God-loving or spiritual.