Tuesday, February 17, 2009

SoapBox News Highlights

After a semi-long weekend, it was back to fear and baloney in the news today.

Our loving PM assured us that the Canadian auto industry would not collapse entirely, a sure sign that something more like the opposite is in store. Many are likely to believe him though, since the Canadian auto branches turned down a stimulus offer from the federal government, as the article mentions. I guess we`ll have a better idea later today.

Last week, I mentioned some rumblings that Canada`s Defence Minister might be eyeing the Nato Secretary General post. Here is another article which mentions the idea. This week he issues a press release and statement at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, which certainly seems to be taking a leadership, although likely somewhat controversial, stance.

An economic note, considering all the talk that the asian economic machine will power the world through this "recession", readers might enjoy this in depth article from The Telegraph.

Here is another reason to be cautious about nuclear power. How does a 14 year radiation leak get summed into a 250,000 UK pound fine?

I have been railing against authoritarian control for some time now, and this is a mighty interesting voice to see agreeing with me. We really cannot keep ignoring the mounting control mechanisms that have been layered onto us, and in an accelerating fashion in recent years, thanks to seemingly helpful technology:



This one I have left for last, because it is a big one and it is not really making headlines yet. While remaining a proud Canadian, I have long been somewhat envious of the founding of the USA, versus the founding of Canada. While the US was founded on the principles of responsible freedom, Canada was founded as a set of British colonies that Britain was no longer powerful enough to forcibly control. So when sovereignty is in danger, the US has a constitution which ensures the rights and responsibilities of the State and smaller bodies, and which limits the rights of the federal government. I am surprised to see it, but there is beginning to be a very strong movement in many US states, to reinforce this part of their constitution. It is the glimmer of hope I have been looking for, that true responsible freedom can be saved. In Canada, this sort of effort would require a basic restructuring of our constitution, as ours is so tightly linked to the British parliamentary system and to the British throne. This freedom has been fought for before, and may have to be fought for again...this time in Canada too.

Be well and good, Sisters and Brothers.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another great post. I did want to mention that I was so excited about the state sovereignty issue but then a friend who lives in Missouri read her states proposal and they had thrown in the right to decide to over throw reproduction rights. So if citizens of states get excited about their own state (and we should be excited), be cautious and read between the lines with a fine tooth comb. There is something really odd about why this movement emerged after the Bush administration when states should have been fighting for our freedoms before we lost so many of them.

Jerry said...

It took that long for most people to realize that they'd been sold a pack of lies about country after country full of terrorists wanting to blow up the US.

As for reproduction rights...I am not surprised. The sovereignty issue is largely being pushed by the Christian right. They are correct on the one front, but feel right on all fronts. That's probably another part of why they left Bush alone for so long.

It is a truly, truly fucked up world....