April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

cbc

Harper misleads on Economy

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A new Depression?
A new Depression?
An article in the Sept. 15th edition of The Hamilton Spectator, quotes Harper as saying; “My own belief is if we were going to have some kind of crash or recession, we probably would have had it by now a year into the (financial) crisis”

Just as we don’t want to be governed by the religious beliefs of the New Conservative Party, we should be suspect of their leader’s economic beliefs. The fallout from the bank crisis in the states may only just be beginning. By giving the money industries a free hand we have created economies that are doomed to crash like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And just as he lost his home, far too many American’s and Canadians in danger of losing, or have lost, theirs.

On Sunday CBC ran The Great Wall Street Swindle, based on fact and not ‘belief’, the background and presumed effects of this debacle are frightening.

You can watch the 30 minute program here.

That there is more and potentially worse economic fallout to come, may in part explain why Harper disregarded his own rule about set election times and called an election before the full effects of neocon policies can be seen.

Khadr Video Shames Canada

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Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr

CBC today carries the story and video the CSIS interview with Omar Khadr. Although the video quality is poor it is obvious that this is an anguished young teen. He tries to tell the integrators of his need for medical care and is met with a smug superior attitude and a complete lack of empathy. He is then told that his breakdown is a “strategy”. I’d like to see the CSIS agent endure half of what this boy did and see what his “strategy” would be.

“We Canadians stand for compassion, we stand for the rule of law. And what you are seeing there is the abuse of the rule of law as Canadian courts have indicated about Canadians and Canada’s involvement in Guantanamo Bay,” lawyer Dennis Edney told CBC News.

Omar Khadr getting battlefield first aid.
Image via Wikipedia

Edney said Canadian officials should have asked Khadr about potential torture, but instead went into the interview without any help for the then teenage boy.

“We don’t do that in Canada and that shouldn’t have happened to this young, most vulnerable boy in Guantanamo,” the lawyer said.

He also said Khadr suffers from several injuries, including the loss of sight in one eye and difficulty with the other, as well as shrapnel and bullet wounds. [ ..CBC ]

Presumably the CSIS agent saw this picture of Khadr as he lay nearly dead on the battlefield. Not an adult soldier but a child brought into war. But Harper doesn’t care for children. He is already trying to put more Canadian youth in prison. Why should he care about one that he can easily get his lunatic fringe to smear? One even went so far on the CBC site as to say that even if Khadr were 6 years old we should kill him. And this person is walking free.

Harper continues to use following LIberal precedent as an excuse for not doing  the Canadian thing, the right thing, the humane thing, the just thing. He refuses to bring Khadr home because he says the Liberals didn’t. Well since when does Harper follow the Liberal play book? In Nuremburg “following orders” was not accepted as an excuse to commit crimes against humanity. How much less successful would following a political foes precedent be?

Khadr is the only western prisoner not claimed by their country. His continued presence there, and this video shames all Canadians.  Harper must either bring Khadr home or step down as Prime Minister. A leader who refuses to protect his own people has committed treason against them.

You can see the tape here — Link opens Video in New Window

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Judge Rules U.S. Violated Human Rights

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The treatment a U.S. official said Omar Khadr received at Guantanamo Bay to prepare him for an interview by a member of foreign affairs was a violation of international human rights, a Canadian federal court judge ruled on Wednesday.

It is no great surprise that human rights violations are going on in Guantanamo, it is damning however that two governments of countries who pride themselves on rights and freedoms allowed the torture of a child. In Canada Khadr if charged with a crime would be protected under the Youth Act. And yet Canadian officials raised no alarm when they found out he was being subjected to torture.

Canadian and American governments bear an enormous responsibility not only in setting back human rights but also in ensuring there will continue to be terrorist incidents. Some of course find the torture of a child perfectly fine. The comments at both CTV and CBC are disgusting and as one commenter said “makes me less and less proud to be Canadian”

Scene of the Firefight in which w:Omar Khadr was capturedImage via WikipediaSome have argued that he was responsible for the death of a soldier. To which I wonder is that not the risk our governments are willing to take when they send troops to war? Is the new war rich countries sending troops to rob poor countries of their resources and the people of those poor countries rather than protect themselves are supposed to say OH HAI! and serve tea/beer/crumpets?

How does one murder a combatant in the heat of battle? In any case the original details of the incident were shown to be wrong. Khadr was not the only person who could have thrown the grenade and likely wasn’t.

It is time our government showed some respect for human rights, the Geneva Convention and basic decency. Bring Khadr home. As commenter carlbailey said to another commenter with the mindset of the conservatives;

quote mr.calgary:
“I knew what was right and wrong when I was 15.”

so, how old were you when you forgot the difference?
or did you just decide to ignore it altogether in favour of blind ignorant hatred.

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Free Khadr

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From the CBC;

A U.S. soldier at the battle said in sworn testimony that two al-Qaeda fighters were alive after the fatal grenade attack.

The unidentified soldier says he killed the first al-Qaeda fighter before spotting Khadr, whom he said was wounded, on his knees and facing away from him. For reasons he does not go into, he says he shot him in the back twice.

The Pentagon says American soldiers fired on Khadr in self-defence after he tried to attack them.

Khadr’s military lawyer Lt.-Cmdr. Bill Kuebler suggests that the U.S. military may have been involved in a coverup.

“The U.S. government had a problem on its hands when it found that it had a 15-year-old Canadian on its hands with two gaping bullet holes in his back that had been facing away from the fight,” said Kuebler.

{emphasis mine}

So here we have a 15 year old shot in the back, imprisoned, tortured, denied basic human rights and dignities and Harper can’t take Bush’s dick out of his mouth long enough to demand Khadr’s immediate release and return?

Harper is not a leader. He is a school yard bully who got left in charge in of the class, and it is time the class pulled their heads out of their books and got a teacher back in charge.

I’d leave off by asking that Harper look deep inside and do the right thing. But he already has his head as far up his ass as it will go.

Uniform Murder

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Let’s start with a definition.

Murder:

  • To kill (another human) unlawfully.
    To kill brutally or inhumanly.

    • Which we will follow up with a snuff film… er video of an incident. {opens Windows Media Player}

    Nothing less than the word murder applies to what appears in that video. This was not a life or death action on behalf of the RCMP. This was not an armed and dangerous offender bent on cop killing.

    What on earth prevented the simple act of phoning for an interpreter from entering their minds? What was the rush to take down in such a violent fashion and then heap further abuse upon a downed, hand cuffed, unarmed, visitor to our country?

    Had this film shown a similar number of young persons, most particularly of colour, engaging in a similar act of aggression resulting in death there would be no end of calls for justice, for lack of mercy, for lifelong imprisonment.

    The act of donning a uniform, seems these days to give one carte blanche to engage in whatever thuggery one chooses in the name of the ‘greater good’. Yet no good seems to be coming from it.

    This was a pointless and senseless death. It is a tragedy for the family and a wake up call for Canadians.
    We have the right to expect more from those given the privilege of serving their communities. Those who make and keep the laws must never be allowed to be above them.

    Murder does not cease to be a crime simply because it was committed by someone sporting a uniform.

    UPDATE: Please visit this site and take action.

    8 years for torture

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    For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out. James Baldwin

    8 years for the torture of a 4 year old hardly seems appropriate. The abuser showed no remorse, no understanding of the heinous nature of his activities and I predict will re-offend in the future.

    Bannert showed no emotion as the judge read his sentence, which was reduced to five years and eight months in prison because of the 14 months he spent in pre-trial custody. The Crown was seeking a much harsher sentence of 15 years.

    The court heard she was denied liquids to a point where she had to drink urine from the toilet and plant water. Graphic details of her sexual abuse also emerged from the trial. She described how sex in a bathtub with “daddy” was a common occurrence.

    A victim impact statement written by a social worker said the girl is so traumatized she cannot learn or form normal emotional relationships. About to turn six next month, the girl is on medication for post-traumatic stress syndrome. She now lives in a foster home.

    Her mother was earlier convicted and sentenced for her part in this crime.

    Apparently the defense tried to argue this off as discipline. Locking a four year old in the basement, handcuffing her, denying her water, forcing her to watch pornography and dance in a suggestive fashion, raping her in the bathtub…..what part of that could in anyone’s twisted mind be considered discipline?

    I wish you peace sweet daughter.



    news sources:

    CTV
    CBC