Scotian has a thoughtful post about the announcement that Canada will share dual-use nuclear technology with India.
I couldn't agree more that the threat of nuclear war remains real, and that Canada should endorse non-proliferation in some way. But this brings up a real problem, because it's clear that in the cases of India and Pakistan (and Israel, perhaps North Korea, perhaps soon Iran...) the existing policy based upon the NNPT, ultimately failed. And when that’s the case, you have to adjust your policy.
The world lost a degree of relative safety when these nations got their nukes, but we can't just pretend they aren't part of the nuclear club, and continue to treat them like they aren’t. What good will wagging our finger do with the genie already out of the bottle? If they're now a nuclear power – with no real chance of ever turning back - how is it that sharing this technology is so daunting?
I am going to back up a bit; a world with no nukes would, of course, be ideal; and I believe we are surely all doomed once the next one is used on this planet. And I, too, lament that cognizance of the unspeakable danger of having these things around seems to have faded in the public imagination in recent years.
But the realist in me says there will always be nuclear weapons about; that there is no turning back. We can never be entirely rid of the things no matter how much we wish otherwise. And as Gwynne Dyer likes to point out, never in the history of war has a weapon been developed that wasn't eventually used against someone. (That the H-Bomb is over fifty years old is a testament to how lucky we have been so far).
I just don't see this as being all that more alarming a development than the status quo, especially given India's track record with handling dangerous technology.
Someday, somebody somewhere may well accidentally launch one (or several) of these things, at which point it’s very likely game over for the human race. And that could just as easily happen in any of the five original nations at the table – none of whom are about to give up their nukes, and all of whom enjoy a preposterous double-standard under the NNPT in having got theirs first. We may as well call it the Nanny-Nanny Boo-Boo Treaty.
It was a good idea at the time, but it’s no longer valid, which makes it an awful framework to build our national policy on going forward. A better idea would be to build a new policy, but still based on reducing the overall number of nuclear weapons out there. We at least need something that reflects a more up-to-date balance of world power than existed immediately after WWII, which is why I believe this agreement with India may actually be a step in the right direction.
- 30 -
Friday, September 30, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Whither the CBC
...It says here we should be proud that we are free
And our free press reflects our democracy
--from Billy Bragg's "It Says Here"
Well this is discouraging. Just when I was getting my hopes up that closure would be coming soon to the CBC's lockout of Canadian Media Guild members, there's this article (courtesy of those same CBC Guild members, so you really have to take it as a press release more than a news story) dampening any enthusiasm for a quick end.
"It says here that the unions will never learn..."
While it's true management can blame the federal government for reducing their funding yet still demanding the same level of services, I'm with the Guild on this one. They aren't asking for pay raises. They just want to protect their numbers in an environment where they are being asked to do more (reporting) with less (resources) all the time.
It's not just the CBC. The newsrooms of the nation have been shedding reporters in a steady stream of lay-offs and cut-backs that began in the 1980s. CKAC radio is the latest to lose its newsroom to the bottom line. The media consumer is the victim of course, getting fewer viewpoints and skimpier reportage for their buck.
"...It says here do you ever wish
That you were better informed..."
This contracting-out of the work might seem like a boon to the animal known as the freelance journalist, but these people battle daily just to keep their heads above water; and they have to work like the dickens getting to the point they can earn their keep at it. One freelancer friend of mine said it took him years just to patiently build-up to earning 20K annually. (He unfortunately had to abandon it last year, needing steadier work, after nearly a decade of struggle.)
"And it says here that we can only stop the rot
With a large dose of law and order
And a touch of the short sharp shock"
So until this lock-out ends, I'm no longer tuning in to CBC radio, TV, or on the web. But at least I can check out the CBCUnlocked in the meantime. (I hadn't heard about this until now.) The site calls itself "a free public service for Canadians, developed by locked-out employees of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation...guided by the principles of honest journalism, intelligent entertainment and public responsibility."
Good on 'em, I say.
Update: More detail from the Globe & Mail.
Last word goes to Bragg:
"...Just remember, there are two sides to every story"
- 30 -
And our free press reflects our democracy
--from Billy Bragg's "It Says Here"
Well this is discouraging. Just when I was getting my hopes up that closure would be coming soon to the CBC's lockout of Canadian Media Guild members, there's this article (courtesy of those same CBC Guild members, so you really have to take it as a press release more than a news story) dampening any enthusiasm for a quick end.
Despite mounting political pressure to come to an agreement, the Canadian Media Guild says “management has made no substantive movement on its positions on employment status or on layoff and recall provisions during extensive discussions in the presence of federal mediators.”
Layoff provisions and the status of contract workers are the two main sticking points.
Calling CBC management’s position “virtually the same as it held before it imposed the lockout,” the union statement says management is refusing to budge on its proposal to use more contract workers.
"It says here that the unions will never learn..."
While it's true management can blame the federal government for reducing their funding yet still demanding the same level of services, I'm with the Guild on this one. They aren't asking for pay raises. They just want to protect their numbers in an environment where they are being asked to do more (reporting) with less (resources) all the time.
It's not just the CBC. The newsrooms of the nation have been shedding reporters in a steady stream of lay-offs and cut-backs that began in the 1980s. CKAC radio is the latest to lose its newsroom to the bottom line. The media consumer is the victim of course, getting fewer viewpoints and skimpier reportage for their buck.
"...It says here do you ever wish
That you were better informed..."
This contracting-out of the work might seem like a boon to the animal known as the freelance journalist, but these people battle daily just to keep their heads above water; and they have to work like the dickens getting to the point they can earn their keep at it. One freelancer friend of mine said it took him years just to patiently build-up to earning 20K annually. (He unfortunately had to abandon it last year, needing steadier work, after nearly a decade of struggle.)
"And it says here that we can only stop the rot
With a large dose of law and order
And a touch of the short sharp shock"
So until this lock-out ends, I'm no longer tuning in to CBC radio, TV, or on the web. But at least I can check out the CBCUnlocked in the meantime. (I hadn't heard about this until now.) The site calls itself "a free public service for Canadians, developed by locked-out employees of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation...guided by the principles of honest journalism, intelligent entertainment and public responsibility."
Good on 'em, I say.
Update: More detail from the Globe & Mail.
Last word goes to Bragg:
"...Just remember, there are two sides to every story"
- 30 -
Monday, September 26, 2005
Moi, Separatist? No more than the G-G
Sacre-bleu-et-blanc! I seem to have confused the issue over at Section 15(see the comments thread) of where I stand on the Quebec Separation movement.
I'm not shy about it: I am no fool separatist. It's a non-starter for me, as I am a proud Quebecker who wants this province (and its french habitants - hell, all its inhabitants) to continue to thrive. Canada has been making that possible for centuries. At the same time, I feel very Quebecois - which I am reminded of whenever I venture out of province. In fact, I feel quite like a fish out-of-water just crossing the border to Ontariariario, where there are suddenly no Danseuses Nues signs in every small town. (And Leafs fans, yeesh! Habs are coming back, boy... This year, man,... you watch...!)
Because when you're english and live in Quebec, as I and four previous generations have, you learn to understand a bit about the truly fantastic french people you work and socialize with each day - including those who believe Quebec should go it alone. By and large, they are beautiful dreamers who try to tell themselves they have nothing against the ROC (rest of Canada); who - don't forget - are fed a completely different batch of news and culture every day than what is on the CTV, CBC and Global. They are justly proud of their achievements, and don't want their sense of "Maitres chez-nous" taken away. There is a power structure that works to pick at that fear whenever expedient.
That's the ugly side of the sovereignist/separatist "intelligentsia". At the same time, they are socially quite liberal-minded (the PQ/BQ I mean), a side of which I am quite comfortable with. I try to watch and read french-language media as much as possible, (but I cannot for the life of me get the humour of any french stand-up comics.)
Furthermore, I have never voted for a separatist and don't ever plan to. I have gone out to vote and ruined my ballot in more than one provincial election. Part of the reason I blog (and comment on other blogs) is to reach out to english Canadians who are too shy or unilingual to get inside the French-Canadian culture. I try to do what (little) I can to keep the hot-heads simmered-down. I've lived through two bitter referendum campaigns and don't want to go there again. This place is beautiful as it is, eh?
Especially Montreal: a great place for fostering a willingness of vastly different cultures to get to know one another. I guess the Jeffs of this country will never get it unless they can learn to stretch their minds some.
But in the meantime, I live for good conversation and I'm learning there is more life in the Canadian blogosphere than I ever knew. This is healthy for us, I think. And now I have a new goal: to be as consistently on-the-mark and coherent as Scotian!
- 30 -
I'm not shy about it: I am no fool separatist. It's a non-starter for me, as I am a proud Quebecker who wants this province (and its french habitants - hell, all its inhabitants) to continue to thrive. Canada has been making that possible for centuries. At the same time, I feel very Quebecois - which I am reminded of whenever I venture out of province. In fact, I feel quite like a fish out-of-water just crossing the border to Ontariariario, where there are suddenly no Danseuses Nues signs in every small town. (And Leafs fans, yeesh! Habs are coming back, boy... This year, man,... you watch...!)
Because when you're english and live in Quebec, as I and four previous generations have, you learn to understand a bit about the truly fantastic french people you work and socialize with each day - including those who believe Quebec should go it alone. By and large, they are beautiful dreamers who try to tell themselves they have nothing against the ROC (rest of Canada); who - don't forget - are fed a completely different batch of news and culture every day than what is on the CTV, CBC and Global. They are justly proud of their achievements, and don't want their sense of "Maitres chez-nous" taken away. There is a power structure that works to pick at that fear whenever expedient.
That's the ugly side of the sovereignist/separatist "intelligentsia". At the same time, they are socially quite liberal-minded (the PQ/BQ I mean), a side of which I am quite comfortable with. I try to watch and read french-language media as much as possible, (but I cannot for the life of me get the humour of any french stand-up comics.)
Furthermore, I have never voted for a separatist and don't ever plan to. I have gone out to vote and ruined my ballot in more than one provincial election. Part of the reason I blog (and comment on other blogs) is to reach out to english Canadians who are too shy or unilingual to get inside the French-Canadian culture. I try to do what (little) I can to keep the hot-heads simmered-down. I've lived through two bitter referendum campaigns and don't want to go there again. This place is beautiful as it is, eh?
Especially Montreal: a great place for fostering a willingness of vastly different cultures to get to know one another. I guess the Jeffs of this country will never get it unless they can learn to stretch their minds some.
But in the meantime, I live for good conversation and I'm learning there is more life in the Canadian blogosphere than I ever knew. This is healthy for us, I think. And now I have a new goal: to be as consistently on-the-mark and coherent as Scotian!
- 30 -
No Dippers Need Apply
I hope this isn't indicative of the direction of other major news media, where political slant is apparently now a job requirement.
I hold a j-school degree, and I am always on the look-out for a job in the actual working media. I thought I'd check out the four Ottawa Citizen positions my folks noticed big ads for in today's National Post. Now, I'd heard the Citizen is no great shakes as a daily newsrag, but I figured if I can stomach reading the completely unstimulating Gazoo, what could be worse?
And recognizing that I am pretty opinionated by nature, the first job I decided to click on (just for fun) was Editorial Writer. All fine and well, until I reach this little eye-opener:
(Emphasis mine)
Hello! What if my commitment isn't sufficiently strong in that regard? (I'm assuming when they say "small" government, they don't mean pols who are short in stature.) And I guess when they say "compromise is required", they mean compromising your own values for what CanWest tells you to opine upon. How very Fox News of them. I have a sneaky suspicion I know why there are suddenly four jobs open...
Somehow my enthusiasm is waning.
- (disheartened) 30 -
Update: To be entirely fair, no such silliness appears to be a requirement for Assistant News Editor, nor Sunday and Features Editor, nor Police Reporter. They may be just trying to strike more balance within the ediorial board for all I know. Perhaps they already have a Dipper, a Lib, a Green and a closet Separatist. And I'm told Ottawa is a really nice city to live in...
I hold a j-school degree, and I am always on the look-out for a job in the actual working media. I thought I'd check out the four Ottawa Citizen positions my folks noticed big ads for in today's National Post. Now, I'd heard the Citizen is no great shakes as a daily newsrag, but I figured if I can stomach reading the completely unstimulating Gazoo, what could be worse?
And recognizing that I am pretty opinionated by nature, the first job I decided to click on (just for fun) was Editorial Writer. All fine and well, until I reach this little eye-opener:
The successful applicant should be an elegant writer with a commitment to the principles of small government and individual freedom. They must work co-operatively with an editorial board in which compromise and consensus are required. Journalism experience and a strong background in national or municipal affairs, economics, business, technology or science will be assets, along with knowledge of French.
(Emphasis mine)
Hello! What if my commitment isn't sufficiently strong in that regard? (I'm assuming when they say "small" government, they don't mean pols who are short in stature.) And I guess when they say "compromise is required", they mean compromising your own values for what CanWest tells you to opine upon. How very Fox News of them. I have a sneaky suspicion I know why there are suddenly four jobs open...
Somehow my enthusiasm is waning.
- (disheartened) 30 -
Update: To be entirely fair, no such silliness appears to be a requirement for Assistant News Editor, nor Sunday and Features Editor, nor Police Reporter. They may be just trying to strike more balance within the ediorial board for all I know. Perhaps they already have a Dipper, a Lib, a Green and a closet Separatist. And I'm told Ottawa is a really nice city to live in...
Sunday, September 25, 2005
About Time
Volpe wants to boost immigration to 300K annually (from current 220K). This is good news. We aren't replacing the population and the new blood will be focussed on people who want to fill the jobs that are less attractive to the current workforce. I have worked with immigrants and their kids my whole life and they are almost universally hard-working conscientious people who are a net benefit and want to be a part of their new society. Now what about those refugee claimants?
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Original Song #3
Slow Down
Well I’m searching for some conversation
But it doesn’t look like I’m going to find much here
Excuse me, but I think I noticed
Most of what we talk about involves sports, women, and beers
Slow down, don’t you buy another round
It’s time to leave the next one up to me
Hang on, don’t you know I’m often misunderstood
If you know what I mean
Well you sit there, and you protest: Why should you care?
But you’re still waiting for your video poker to make you a millionaire
Meanwhile, you forgot how to take a stand
But just ‘cause things aren’t in your control, doesn’t mean they’re out of hand
Slow down, don’t you sell your fleshy pounds
It’s time to think on your own and not just to please
Hang on, don’t you know there’s a dozen new Hitlers whom we’ll scoff
But we’ll die to appease
Slow down, don’t you buy another round
It’s time to leave the next one up to me
Hang on, don’t you know that history won’t bail you out
When you’re down on your knees
Well I thank you for your beer and company
But your yawning’s telling me that it’s time to leave
Just think about this for one sec: he who dies with regrets
Is he as sorry for things he did as things that he didn’t?
Slow Down
- 30 -
Well I’m searching for some conversation
But it doesn’t look like I’m going to find much here
Excuse me, but I think I noticed
Most of what we talk about involves sports, women, and beers
Slow down, don’t you buy another round
It’s time to leave the next one up to me
Hang on, don’t you know I’m often misunderstood
If you know what I mean
Well you sit there, and you protest: Why should you care?
But you’re still waiting for your video poker to make you a millionaire
Meanwhile, you forgot how to take a stand
But just ‘cause things aren’t in your control, doesn’t mean they’re out of hand
Slow down, don’t you sell your fleshy pounds
It’s time to think on your own and not just to please
Hang on, don’t you know there’s a dozen new Hitlers whom we’ll scoff
But we’ll die to appease
Slow down, don’t you buy another round
It’s time to leave the next one up to me
Hang on, don’t you know that history won’t bail you out
When you’re down on your knees
Well I thank you for your beer and company
But your yawning’s telling me that it’s time to leave
Just think about this for one sec: he who dies with regrets
Is he as sorry for things he did as things that he didn’t?
Slow Down
- 30 -
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Ensemble (nous allons tripper!)
It's the pause that refreshes in the corridors of power
When top men need a top up well before the happy hour
Your eyeballs feel like pinballs
And your tongue feels like a fish
You’re leaping from the windows-saying don’t
Ayaiiiiirrrghhh! *@!!*@!!*!
Don’t give me none of this!
--The Clash, from Koka Kola
Well, it's been a lovely blog-free week, but all good things must come to pass, thanks to Andre Boisclair. Just as the polls showed him to be way out ahead of the pack vying for leadership of the Parti Quebecois, he has had to admit to snorting nose candy while he was in Bouchard's cabinet (he skated around a point-blank question of whether he used coke and wouldn't deny using it, saying he "consumed").
Now I am not one to get in the way of the PQ pointing a gun "dans sa bouche", but I have to say that the reporters who are on him ought not let him get off the hook with the old "youthful indiscretion" excuse.
While Clinton allowed for the possibility he held his breathe rather than enjoy a little doobie as a student, there is a marked difference between that and flying high on white powder whilst you are a cabinet-level minister. If Boisclair couldn't take that job seriously enough to obey the law, surely cognizant that the stuff he was sniffing had bloody underworld fingerprints all over it, how can he now expect Quebeckers to take him seriously as a potential premier?
While the Public Security minister of the day (and the barely constrained Surete du Quebec) were busy going after the Hell's Angels and other organized crime, Boisclair was busy being their client. What's more, he didn't say a word about his criminal behaviour for years. How, as Premier, could he possibly let one cocaine user (or gang member trafficking that and lesser evils) face prosecution under his watch? How can he (and whomever he names as his Public Sercurity minister) have the respect of the SQ leadership? Judging from Boisclair's miffed reactions in front of the press's scrutiny, he hasn't really yet grasped the magnitude of this blunder. This is no small knock against his credibility.
If the PQ is stupid enough to anoint Boisclair, they are giving Charest an opening that even someone at less than 20% support can use to coast to a second term, no matter how many unions hate his guts.
- 30 -
When top men need a top up well before the happy hour
Your eyeballs feel like pinballs
And your tongue feels like a fish
You’re leaping from the windows-saying don’t
Ayaiiiiirrrghhh! *@!!*@!!*!
Don’t give me none of this!
--The Clash, from Koka Kola
Well, it's been a lovely blog-free week, but all good things must come to pass, thanks to Andre Boisclair. Just as the polls showed him to be way out ahead of the pack vying for leadership of the Parti Quebecois, he has had to admit to snorting nose candy while he was in Bouchard's cabinet (he skated around a point-blank question of whether he used coke and wouldn't deny using it, saying he "consumed").
Now I am not one to get in the way of the PQ pointing a gun "dans sa bouche", but I have to say that the reporters who are on him ought not let him get off the hook with the old "youthful indiscretion" excuse.
While Clinton allowed for the possibility he held his breathe rather than enjoy a little doobie as a student, there is a marked difference between that and flying high on white powder whilst you are a cabinet-level minister. If Boisclair couldn't take that job seriously enough to obey the law, surely cognizant that the stuff he was sniffing had bloody underworld fingerprints all over it, how can he now expect Quebeckers to take him seriously as a potential premier?
While the Public Security minister of the day (and the barely constrained Surete du Quebec) were busy going after the Hell's Angels and other organized crime, Boisclair was busy being their client. What's more, he didn't say a word about his criminal behaviour for years. How, as Premier, could he possibly let one cocaine user (or gang member trafficking that and lesser evils) face prosecution under his watch? How can he (and whomever he names as his Public Sercurity minister) have the respect of the SQ leadership? Judging from Boisclair's miffed reactions in front of the press's scrutiny, he hasn't really yet grasped the magnitude of this blunder. This is no small knock against his credibility.
If the PQ is stupid enough to anoint Boisclair, they are giving Charest an opening that even someone at less than 20% support can use to coast to a second term, no matter how many unions hate his guts.
- 30 -
Monday, September 12, 2005
Holy Flying Spaghetti Monster, Batman!
Tip of the hat to Cathie for highlighting this story about a saucy new religion conjured up to add spice to the Intelligent Design "debate".
Soon after reading about this, I was actually visited by the Spaghetti Monster's spirit, which used me as a channel for dissemination of this prayer (please rise):
Our spaghetti
Who art in the colander
Hallowed be thy sauce
Thy serving come
Thy strands be wrung
On forks as they are on spoons
Give us this day our daily meatball
And forgive us our starchiness
As we forgive those who are starchy against us
And lead us not into Kraft parmessan
But deliver us from Chef Boy Ardee
For thine is the garlic
And the onion and the bay leaves
For ever and ever.
Ramen
I am so filled with the Holy Spice, I think my tongue is on fire!
- 30 -
Soon after reading about this, I was actually visited by the Spaghetti Monster's spirit, which used me as a channel for dissemination of this prayer (please rise):
Our spaghetti
Who art in the colander
Hallowed be thy sauce
Thy serving come
Thy strands be wrung
On forks as they are on spoons
Give us this day our daily meatball
And forgive us our starchiness
As we forgive those who are starchy against us
And lead us not into Kraft parmessan
But deliver us from Chef Boy Ardee
For thine is the garlic
And the onion and the bay leaves
For ever and ever.
Ramen
I am so filled with the Holy Spice, I think my tongue is on fire!
- 30 -
Sunday, September 11, 2005
GOP horse to stable: Toodaloo!
When an ex-Reagan crony speaks up against you, asking if you're a serious president, you know you've got troubles with your base.
(Emphasis mine)
That's three "failed"s and one "failure" in just a portion of Doug Bandow's article. It would seem Bushco is losing favour with some of the old-guard Republicans. That such a scathing diatribe comes from within the ranks at least proves that lame-duck status is hitting the entire Bushco administration, which would include Rove and Cheney. Obviously, some Repubs are no longer interested in carrying water for this pathetic bunch, and feel empowered to shoot them down publicly. If the balloon has indeed popped, then this is a dire sign for the neo-cons and their empirical agenda.
And if that Tower of Babel crumbles, I might even believe there's hope for the return of a sane United States.
Someday...
- 30 -
The administration underestimated the problem, failed to plan for the predictable aftermath and refused to accept responsibility for its actions. Just as when the President took the US and many of its allies into the Iraq war based on false and distorted intelligence. Then the administration failed to prepare for violent resistance in Iraq. The Pentagon did not provide American soldiers with adequate quantities of body armour, armoured vehicles and other equipment.
Contrary to administration expectations, new terrorist affiliates sprang up, new terrorist recruits flooded Iraq and new terrorist attacks were launched across the world, including against several friends of the US. In none of these cases has anyone taken responsibility for anything.
Now Hurricane Katrina surprised a woefully ill-prepared administration. President Bush and his officials failed in their most basic responsibility: to maintain the peaceful social framework within which Americans normally live and work together.
Bush initially responded to 9/11 with personal empathy and political sensitivity. But his failures now overwhelm his successes. The administration's continuing lack of accountability leaves it ill-equipped to meet equally serious future challenges sure to face the US and the rest of the world.
(Emphasis mine)
That's three "failed"s and one "failure" in just a portion of Doug Bandow's article. It would seem Bushco is losing favour with some of the old-guard Republicans. That such a scathing diatribe comes from within the ranks at least proves that lame-duck status is hitting the entire Bushco administration, which would include Rove and Cheney. Obviously, some Repubs are no longer interested in carrying water for this pathetic bunch, and feel empowered to shoot them down publicly. If the balloon has indeed popped, then this is a dire sign for the neo-cons and their empirical agenda.
And if that Tower of Babel crumbles, I might even believe there's hope for the return of a sane United States.
Someday...
- 30 -
MA project looking for respondents.
Take the survey on Canadian blogging. Thoroughly painless - if you can trust a blogger, that is.
- 30 -
- 30 -
Friday, September 09, 2005
Might as well just say you're not a crook
ABC news buried the lede, but scroll down and you'll see that Bush was warned of levee breach probability on Sunday, Aug. 28:
Of course, that didn't stop 'ol Bush from lying in Diane Sawyer's face the following week on Good Morning America, telling her he didn't think anyone anticipated the levees being breached.
It all comes out in the wash, eh?
- 30 -
On Saturday at 8:30 p.m. — about 35 hours before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast — Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, was so concerned about the storm, he personally called the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana as well as the mayor of New Orleans to make sure they understood the severity of the situation.
The next day, President Bush listened in on a FEMA conference call during which Mayfield warned of a storm surge of more than 20 feet of water rolling over levees.
Of course, that didn't stop 'ol Bush from lying in Diane Sawyer's face the following week on Good Morning America, telling her he didn't think anyone anticipated the levees being breached.
It all comes out in the wash, eh?
- 30 -
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Original Song #2
Stoke the Fire
Caught in machinations
Beyond your power
Busy earning a living
You stoke the fire
And you wonder how they
Could let it happen
Never bother to question
How big is your picture?
Successive generations
Will be quick to damn us
Maybe they'll understand us
Recipe for murder:
Divide the horror
Give the people a scapegoat
Then point the finger
Gain complicity
Reward efficiency
Give the people procedures
They'll die to please
Perhaps the question to ask is:
Does it really matter?
Who pulled the trigger
Who filled the gas tanks
Who stoked the fires
That burn us
- 30 -
Caught in machinations
Beyond your power
Busy earning a living
You stoke the fire
And you wonder how they
Could let it happen
Never bother to question
How big is your picture?
Successive generations
Will be quick to damn us
Maybe they'll understand us
Recipe for murder:
Divide the horror
Give the people a scapegoat
Then point the finger
Gain complicity
Reward efficiency
Give the people procedures
They'll die to please
Perhaps the question to ask is:
Does it really matter?
Who pulled the trigger
Who filled the gas tanks
Who stoked the fires
That burn us
- 30 -
Monday, September 05, 2005
Katrina's Undertow
Bushco Priority #1 (actual):
Recent Republican talking points have focused on mitigating the political damage of the executive branch being asleep at the switch by trying to point the blame at Louisiana and the city of New Orleans (both run by Democrats).
Bushco Priority #1 (stated):
United States Dept. of Homeland Security's stated mission:
"In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort."
Here's a good run-down on that compehensive federal response, courtesy of Editor and Publisher.
- 30 -
Recent Republican talking points have focused on mitigating the political damage of the executive branch being asleep at the switch by trying to point the blame at Louisiana and the city of New Orleans (both run by Democrats).
Bushco Priority #1 (stated):
United States Dept. of Homeland Security's stated mission:
"In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort."
Here's a good run-down on that compehensive federal response, courtesy of Editor and Publisher.
- 30 -
Saturday, September 03, 2005
"Shoot to Kill"
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
Too many women with too many pills
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will
--AC/DC
Cathie from Canada has a lot of good stuff on the sad sad situation in New Orleans. In particular, this outrage about how the Red Cross still has not been allowed into the city by the apparently Orwellian-named Dept. of Homeland Security.
As Wes Clark noted, there's still a real lack of leadership. I don't understand why I seem to be able to get a better read of the situation just from clicking around the internet than those guys making the decisions, with all the tools they have at their disposal.
Last night on CTV news, Jed Kahane did a live stand-up from NOLA. (He's an excellent reporter, BTW, who only a few weeks ago let it be known that Homolka's scumbag ex-boss had tried to sell him his juicy "scoop" on her, days before the Toronto Sun broke the story.) Anyway, Kahane looked shaken as he signed-off noting that the military that sloshed in yesterday had "shoot to kill" orders.
Well I'm sure that will be of great comfort to the starving, thirsty thousands who are feeling the grave with one foot as surely as they're smelling the fetid rot of the city around them.
You can easily see how frightened they are. They tell the cameras at every opportunity. They've been left to their own devices. Their survival is all up to them whether they have the means or not.
If I was in that Convention Center and my son hadn't had any milk or a bath or anything to eat for three days, I'd be a disgrace as a father if I didn't smash open the local grocery store and take whatever I could for him. The fear of not knowing what the hell is going on drives people to very desperate acts; and when people are dying for want all around you while "property" is nearby, the rules of what is yours to take go out the window pretty fast.
Thank God it never got like that here in the 1998 ice storm. It's (an imperfect analogy, I know, but it does have some bearing, I think.) I remember there was leadership from our officials; they took their responsibilities very seriously, and let us know what was happening. They gave us a sense that they were on top of a bad and unpredictable calamity, and they made sure people were looked-after and aware of where to get shelter and basic provisions.
There was no looting to speak of, although the opportunities abounded. I ventured into the "closed" city at my boss's request - right downtown to Peel and Ste. Catherines, in fact - where I had to sit for hours in a windowless office with a rotary phone in case the other employees called wondering about their jobs & shifts, and what was happening.
Lots of folks were holed-up in hotels or staying with friends; many had to scramble to find a place to stay where there was power and heat. The downtown streets were almost completely abandoned. There was just the occasional police car roaming around, and thankfully for me, I happened across a hot-dog & fries pick-up truck type operation parked near McGill.
One thing no one put in place was any "shoot to kill" directives. That is very, very warped and I can only imagine things getting worse before they get better. These are troops who are primarily trained on killing the enemy. That kind of order just sets the tone for them, and sets the table for a lot of bloodshed. Another awful decision to pile on the mound of Bushco's legacy.
If you treat people like savage animals, they will respond by acting like savage animals. Post-invasion Iraq proves that, and anyone can see it - anyone who does think of them as human beings in the first place that is. But do they? I have to think not; that's the only way I can make sense of "Shoot to Kill" orders in this situation.
The United States has lost even more of its soul than I ever thought possible.
- 30 -
Too many women with too many pills
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will
--AC/DC
Cathie from Canada has a lot of good stuff on the sad sad situation in New Orleans. In particular, this outrage about how the Red Cross still has not been allowed into the city by the apparently Orwellian-named Dept. of Homeland Security.
As Wes Clark noted, there's still a real lack of leadership. I don't understand why I seem to be able to get a better read of the situation just from clicking around the internet than those guys making the decisions, with all the tools they have at their disposal.
Last night on CTV news, Jed Kahane did a live stand-up from NOLA. (He's an excellent reporter, BTW, who only a few weeks ago let it be known that Homolka's scumbag ex-boss had tried to sell him his juicy "scoop" on her, days before the Toronto Sun broke the story.) Anyway, Kahane looked shaken as he signed-off noting that the military that sloshed in yesterday had "shoot to kill" orders.
Well I'm sure that will be of great comfort to the starving, thirsty thousands who are feeling the grave with one foot as surely as they're smelling the fetid rot of the city around them.
You can easily see how frightened they are. They tell the cameras at every opportunity. They've been left to their own devices. Their survival is all up to them whether they have the means or not.
If I was in that Convention Center and my son hadn't had any milk or a bath or anything to eat for three days, I'd be a disgrace as a father if I didn't smash open the local grocery store and take whatever I could for him. The fear of not knowing what the hell is going on drives people to very desperate acts; and when people are dying for want all around you while "property" is nearby, the rules of what is yours to take go out the window pretty fast.
Thank God it never got like that here in the 1998 ice storm. It's (an imperfect analogy, I know, but it does have some bearing, I think.) I remember there was leadership from our officials; they took their responsibilities very seriously, and let us know what was happening. They gave us a sense that they were on top of a bad and unpredictable calamity, and they made sure people were looked-after and aware of where to get shelter and basic provisions.
There was no looting to speak of, although the opportunities abounded. I ventured into the "closed" city at my boss's request - right downtown to Peel and Ste. Catherines, in fact - where I had to sit for hours in a windowless office with a rotary phone in case the other employees called wondering about their jobs & shifts, and what was happening.
Lots of folks were holed-up in hotels or staying with friends; many had to scramble to find a place to stay where there was power and heat. The downtown streets were almost completely abandoned. There was just the occasional police car roaming around, and thankfully for me, I happened across a hot-dog & fries pick-up truck type operation parked near McGill.
One thing no one put in place was any "shoot to kill" directives. That is very, very warped and I can only imagine things getting worse before they get better. These are troops who are primarily trained on killing the enemy. That kind of order just sets the tone for them, and sets the table for a lot of bloodshed. Another awful decision to pile on the mound of Bushco's legacy.
If you treat people like savage animals, they will respond by acting like savage animals. Post-invasion Iraq proves that, and anyone can see it - anyone who does think of them as human beings in the first place that is. But do they? I have to think not; that's the only way I can make sense of "Shoot to Kill" orders in this situation.
The United States has lost even more of its soul than I ever thought possible.
- 30 -
Thursday, September 01, 2005
New Orleans a Horror Story
Today we're starting to see the Convention Center is at least as bad as the Superdome. From CNN:
Plus, out in the flooded neighbourhoods:
And finally, this:
I haven't felt this much like crying since the incident in Beslan, which began one year ago today (more evidence of the Almighty's twisted sense of humour, if you ask me). Billmon has posted a fine list of relief agencies with links. Evidently their own governments don't seem to give a shit about them. There is no excuse for this kind of keystone cops response from the richest nation the world has ever seen. None.
- 30 -
The convention center is a place that people were told to go to because it would be safe. In fact, it is a scene of anarchy.
There is absolutely nobody in control. There is no National Guard, no police, no information to be had.
The convention center is next to the Mississippi River. Many people who are sleeping there feel that a boat is going to come and get them. Or they think a bus is going to come. But no buses have come. No boats have come. They think water is going come. No water has come. And they have no food.
Probably the most disturbing thing is that people at the convention center are starting to pass away and there is simply nothing to do with their bodies. There is nowhere to put them. There is no one who can do anything with them. This is making everybody very, very upset.
Plus, out in the flooded neighbourhoods:
We went off into many communities to see if we could find people. As we were navigating through these narrow areas with power lines and all kinds of obstructions above and below us, we suddenly heard faint screams coming from homes. People were yelling, "Help! Help!"
We found one elderly woman in one home. She told us, "I've been here and I need to get out. Can you get me?" Then she said, "But there are people next door and they have babies, so leave me until morning. Get them out now."
And finally, this:
Some state officials, though, have been getting into the center of town.
One of them, for example, got in with a bus. He saw one woman who was so desperate she actually handed her 2-month-old baby to another woman and said, "Take my child. I can't get on this bus, but you've got to try to save the child."
The woman promised her she would take care of that baby.
I haven't felt this much like crying since the incident in Beslan, which began one year ago today (more evidence of the Almighty's twisted sense of humour, if you ask me). Billmon has posted a fine list of relief agencies with links. Evidently their own governments don't seem to give a shit about them. There is no excuse for this kind of keystone cops response from the richest nation the world has ever seen. None.
- 30 -
A Dome Idea
As surreal as Bushco's America is, I still find myself utterly bewildered at times.
Last Sunday all the TV news channels were showing footage of people - just about all of them black, mind you - lining up in New Orleans. Authorities had told them if they couldn't find any other means, they could proceed to a closed-roof football stadium to wait out a hurricane that was forecast to flood the city and do immense damage.
They were told to bring five-days' worth of whatever medicines and other things they needed. Some of them looked bemused, like they figured they may as well make the best of it. So off they went to a dome that was dubbed "Super".
What can you do about the weather, right? Might as well go. The last outbound Greyhound buses had already left the city. The remainder of regularly-scheduled routes had been allowed to be cancelled in that good 'ol U.S.A. free-market society. These were people with no cars, and no money for a plane ticket or accomodations away from their homes.
A little background here: I (and just about everbody) survived the 1998 ice storm during some very cold days with no power, no drinkable water, and no heat.
I remember the first day of it, trying to pass my driver's test in the freezing rain (the pencil-pushing examiner cut me no slack and failed me). I was mad at the weather for screwing up my test, and totally oblivious to how bad it was going to get. We all were. We didn't know the stuff wasn't going to stop coming down for days. The weather forecasters weren't able to see it coming. Then it got bad when all the electrical transmission towers starting crashing down under the weight of all that ice.
It was damned scary for all of us, but in the end the disaster was mostly an economic one. Only a handful died, and most deaths were the result of self-administered suffocations, caused by the naïve use of gas cookers in unventilated homes. The downtown was closed for a few days due to the risk of mammoth icicles crashing down from tall buildings. The army came in and helped out.
After a week or so, the power and water supply was mostly restored in the city of Montreal. Some rural areas meanwhile had to wait about six long cold weeks. Eventually, we all bounced back. Our trees and roofs are still recovering however.
But back to New Orleans: who in their right mind could concoct the idea of leaving people to suffer up to five hot summer days in a closed stadium with tens of thousands of others (who can't shower either), with no air conditioning, all the septic system overflowing due to the flood-water backing up, and nothing to eat but crappy MRE pre-packaged meals that are probably designed to survive a direct nuclear hit?
(Oh, they knew what was likely coming. I read the alerts issued by the U.S. National Hurricane Center on Sunday evening. The warnings were unequivocable. The authors' sense of urgency could not be missed. They warned of levees likely being breached and massive flooding that would become a literal soup of toxicity and decay - all of which seems to be well underway.)
Now, with reports that other people rescued from their roofs were brought by the thousands to join the party (the estimates run from 25 to 30,000), the conditions must be getting unspeakable in there.
It conjures up images not unlike the gritty re-enactment of the trans-Atlantic slave-ships depicted in Roots.
In Quebec, I think we would consider it simply inhumane. Maybe it was just a bad decision, or the best of some very limited options. But now that the Authorities have brilliantly concluded that that's no place for people to be, what actions are they taking to ameliorate the situation?
Hey, I know, let's bus 'em all out on a twelve-hour trip to Houston, where they can hang out in the Astrodome! They got power there? Yipper. The toilets all flush? Mmmm...mostly. Hot damn! Somebody call Greyhound!!
- 30 -
Addendum
Meanwhile, Bushco has decided to let the oil refineries off the hook from removing sulphur from the gasoline they produce. (You will recall that this undoes yet another initiative from the days of GWH Bush, to staunch a main cause of sulphur-dioxide emissions, which creates acid rain.) All in the guise of getting more gas out to the pumps quicker:
Whatever you say, Bushco. I bet those corporations are feeling just terrible about this new relaxing of the pollution standards. Just terrible.
Update: Sept.1, 07h15 Bush is being interviewed right now by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. When asked if he was satisfied with the speed of response in getting basic essentials to the people who need them, he could only come up with: "I don't think anybody expected the levee to be breached."
Jerk. If he doesn't smarten up soon, people are going to turn on him and in a big way.
NOTE: Cross-posting this as a diary on Daily Kos
Last Sunday all the TV news channels were showing footage of people - just about all of them black, mind you - lining up in New Orleans. Authorities had told them if they couldn't find any other means, they could proceed to a closed-roof football stadium to wait out a hurricane that was forecast to flood the city and do immense damage.
They were told to bring five-days' worth of whatever medicines and other things they needed. Some of them looked bemused, like they figured they may as well make the best of it. So off they went to a dome that was dubbed "Super".
What can you do about the weather, right? Might as well go. The last outbound Greyhound buses had already left the city. The remainder of regularly-scheduled routes had been allowed to be cancelled in that good 'ol U.S.A. free-market society. These were people with no cars, and no money for a plane ticket or accomodations away from their homes.
A little background here: I (and just about everbody) survived the 1998 ice storm during some very cold days with no power, no drinkable water, and no heat.
I remember the first day of it, trying to pass my driver's test in the freezing rain (the pencil-pushing examiner cut me no slack and failed me). I was mad at the weather for screwing up my test, and totally oblivious to how bad it was going to get. We all were. We didn't know the stuff wasn't going to stop coming down for days. The weather forecasters weren't able to see it coming. Then it got bad when all the electrical transmission towers starting crashing down under the weight of all that ice.
It was damned scary for all of us, but in the end the disaster was mostly an economic one. Only a handful died, and most deaths were the result of self-administered suffocations, caused by the naïve use of gas cookers in unventilated homes. The downtown was closed for a few days due to the risk of mammoth icicles crashing down from tall buildings. The army came in and helped out.
After a week or so, the power and water supply was mostly restored in the city of Montreal. Some rural areas meanwhile had to wait about six long cold weeks. Eventually, we all bounced back. Our trees and roofs are still recovering however.
But back to New Orleans: who in their right mind could concoct the idea of leaving people to suffer up to five hot summer days in a closed stadium with tens of thousands of others (who can't shower either), with no air conditioning, all the septic system overflowing due to the flood-water backing up, and nothing to eat but crappy MRE pre-packaged meals that are probably designed to survive a direct nuclear hit?
(Oh, they knew what was likely coming. I read the alerts issued by the U.S. National Hurricane Center on Sunday evening. The warnings were unequivocable. The authors' sense of urgency could not be missed. They warned of levees likely being breached and massive flooding that would become a literal soup of toxicity and decay - all of which seems to be well underway.)
Now, with reports that other people rescued from their roofs were brought by the thousands to join the party (the estimates run from 25 to 30,000), the conditions must be getting unspeakable in there.
It conjures up images not unlike the gritty re-enactment of the trans-Atlantic slave-ships depicted in Roots.
In Quebec, I think we would consider it simply inhumane. Maybe it was just a bad decision, or the best of some very limited options. But now that the Authorities have brilliantly concluded that that's no place for people to be, what actions are they taking to ameliorate the situation?
Hey, I know, let's bus 'em all out on a twelve-hour trip to Houston, where they can hang out in the Astrodome! They got power there? Yipper. The toilets all flush? Mmmm...mostly. Hot damn! Somebody call Greyhound!!
- 30 -
Addendum
Meanwhile, Bushco has decided to let the oil refineries off the hook from removing sulphur from the gasoline they produce. (You will recall that this undoes yet another initiative from the days of GWH Bush, to staunch a main cause of sulphur-dioxide emissions, which creates acid rain.) All in the guise of getting more gas out to the pumps quicker:
The U.S. Environmental Protection agency said it's suspending summertime anti-pollution measures that force refiners to cut sulphur levels and lower fuel volatility. U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said that will boost the efficiency of refiners and allow earlier release of stockpiled winter fuels.
Whatever you say, Bushco. I bet those corporations are feeling just terrible about this new relaxing of the pollution standards. Just terrible.
Update: Sept.1, 07h15 Bush is being interviewed right now by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. When asked if he was satisfied with the speed of response in getting basic essentials to the people who need them, he could only come up with: "I don't think anybody expected the levee to be breached."
Jerk. If he doesn't smarten up soon, people are going to turn on him and in a big way.
NOTE: Cross-posting this as a diary on Daily Kos
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