It occurs to me that Bill C-51 and other draconian bills being introduced by Herr Harper might actually be a good sign. These acts may just be the manifestations of a frustrated bully…?
For some time now, the trappings of power have yielded less actual power. Heads of state, ministers of departments, even armies have had less effective control on the world’s commoners. Social media, growing democracies, the internet as a whole and the lifting of trade barriers has galvanized freedom of speech and freedom of movement and organization even where such acts are still officially forbidden. Basically, the masses are revolting in so many ways from illegal migration to terrorism to underground economies and phenomena such as Arab Spring and Occupy that it constitutes a world-wide revolution of sorts.
The current and most visible revolution in Canada is being led by First Nations – they are just about reaching de facto leadership status on many issues. They sue the government all the time – over fisheries and oceans, natural resources, oil pipelines tanker traffic and the list just keeps growing. FNs are leading the fight. And they are doing a good job!
What is a good tyrant to do in the face of that? Why bolster their trappings of power at the very least. And I think that partly explains Harper’s stupid and heavy handed attempts at garnering more power – he fears he is losing what he has.
Let’s face it, a lot of what our so-called leaders claim has been proven false and further, what they have promised has not been forthcoming. More and more the government is looking weaker and weaker. Ergo, they feel the need to get a new bunch of uniforms and arms and ‘show the flag’ and strut about…well, Syria, for instance. Maybe rattle a sword at Russia. Declare war on some vague, unsubstantiated enemy like women wearing masks….or something. Preach fear. Claim to be a hero.
There was that whole embarrassment (I was embarrassed and they SHOULD have been embarrassed) over the in-the-media glorification of John A MacDonald and the War of 1812 and the Franklin Expedition – flag-waving and boosterism like the Americans do that basically fell flat with Canadians. Same was true of the sensationalizing of a few, poor, twisted weirdos-with-guns as terrorists. That didn’t fly with most Canadians either. Neither did Christy Clark’s hysteria over all-the-Nuttals with pressure cookers. Canadians are just NOT buying the message of fear as much as Harper wants.
We didn’t buy Enbridge either. Northern Gateway is in mothballs. Keystone got shelved. It all should be declared DOA but that slippery Frankenstein will likely try to stumble through a few more villages in the night a few more times. Where does one buy stakes and silver bullets anyway? And what about Clark’s promises of billions from LNG? Poof!
They have lost all credibility with us.
My point: even though government is getting more Orwellian all the time, it may just be a sign that people are revolting more and more and in different ways. And by different means. We don’t seem to vote (or believe) in elections but we vote on social media – as one small example. Those in power can ‘feel‘ their actual power ebbing and are vainly trying to keep what power they thought they had by buying more epaulets, issuing more medals for more police/soldiers and drafting more paperwork for parliament.
I don’t think it is going to work for them. It is hard for even the most tyrannical state to impose their will on the people. Even the worst of the bully dictators holes up in a palace and stays off the streets most of the time. The hoi polloi go about their daily business even in Russia, Zimbabwe and North Korea. You can’t keep your jackboots on the throats of everyone all the time.
Leadership cannot be taken, it can only be willingly given.
Oppression and bigotry, greed and environmental irresponsibility are not leadership qualities we respect and we seem to be rejecting them in our quiet Canadian way. We are taking away Harper’s power. Keep it up, folks. Maybe we can put this era of error behind us soon.
Our Off the Grid Home 
Seems the amount of minority coalition govts everywhere these days is the result of voters “protesting” the only effective way they can.
Tis a shame we dont have a “none of the above” option whereupon the gvot would be ruled by accountants under a balanced budget Law.
Methinks Harp’er will form a minority govt and then the long knives will be out……He’s done either way.
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I have a lot of Conservative friends (who are actually quite human, surprisingly. And nice and kind and generous and all that sort of thing. Some of them even have brains. ALL of them have money. They have just ‘aligned’ with the brand for reasons that they can’t remember and can’t seem to shake it but they are quite adamant,’This guy has go to go!’
I think the main reason for Cons voting against Harper is that true, original, Constitutional-type Cons are all about freedom of this and that from speech to business laws and taxes. And they are balking at what feels like MORE controls.
I, personally, would not object at all to a ‘none-of-the-above’ voting result meaning two years of ‘administrative’ government only. Might act like ‘detention’ for these nitwits.
What I lament the most is the sheepish submission of the masses to BIG BROTHER stuff but, upon contemplation, I am seeing ‘quiet’ revolution everywhere so maybe they are not so sheepish after all.
Here’s a wild one for you: seems a large percentage of Russians have gone off-grid! I have no idea if that is true but I read it. They are calling it the Anastasia movement or Ringing Cedars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Megre) and it basically has ‘small’ leaders rejuvenating village life – to a large degree. So……..ya hafta make something of that!
We are NOT alone?
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Russians as Churchill once commented are a ‘Mystery wrapped in an enigma’.
Ive worked with several Russians over the years.
They definitely look at the world in a much different way than we do. Suspicious, superstitious, cynical…..(500 years of oppression does that to a race of people)
One fellow would “treat” himself every 6 months for “radiation poisoning” from Chernobyl by wearing a hotwater bottle around his waist and drinking a “cure” for radiation recommended by a local Russian “healer”. The “cure” was 2 liters of fresh squeezed lemon juice(no sugar) and 2 liters of sunflower oil………he would alternate massive gulps of each for an hour until it was all gone. Much to his co workers morbidly fascinated horror!
Then the liver “cleansing” of radiation poisoning would begin. He would begin to vomit everything up including bile and experience endless diareahha.
All while he was at work because……..Russians dont really care about work………unless it benefits them ….and only them.
The other two russian “workers” spent more time hiding and shirking their assigned duties than actually working.
I fired 2 and the last one quit.
Perhaps they went back to Mother Russia to live on a hippie compound in the Taiga. Hopefully surrounded by a stockade of cedar logs to keep the starving wolves out………..
But I doubt it. Canada was the land of milk and honey compared to Moscovite power outages, drunken beggars on the subways and no hot water for showers from 6am until 3am.
Alas, they are Canadas’ problem now
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I tend to agree with Churchill. But I don’t really know. My experience is pretty limited. Mostly to characters in cheap B movies. Not a fair sample. I have noticed that the men prefer to wear black leather jackets’ tho. And smiling is not a common trait for either sex.
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I once read a comment from an English diplomat stationed in Russia during the Cold War days. He was asked why Russian men dont smile in public.
“To most Russians a person who laughs or smiles in public is considered an idiot or simpleton. A Russian man will smile when the State police show up to arrest him and mistakenly take the wrong person………..”
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That explains it as well as anything, I guess. Seriously, I have known a few Russians and gotten along just fine but they were mad as hatters, to be sure. And drunk all day Sunday at the very least. I don’t think that a group can suffer like the Russians have for so long without that suffering being burned into the psyche – collectively and individually. I feel sorry for them like I felt sorry for Old Yeller – he had gone mad through no fault of his own (rabies).
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Harper is in the Neo-Con camp his policies are not big ‘C’ Conservative. Harper wants to muzzle dissent. Harper wants to transform society and politics which makes him a dangerous reactionary type conservative. He bridles against the Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights which to date though the courts have circumscribed and limited his power grabs. The First Nations are using the constitutional court processes to define their rights. Harper’s Bill C51 will imperil the rights of First Nations and all Canadians to protest government policies. It is likely that Bill C51 will be over turned in the Supreme Court of Canada, Perhaps the citizen worm is turning against Harper and perhaps not. As long as enough Canadians think there is no alternative to Harper then Harper’s message of fear and hopelessness will flourish. Canadians support the rule of law not the suspension of the rule of law as set out in Bill C51. Canada is headed to a constitutional showdown. Let’s pray that the the Constitution prevails. The comment I read earlier about “none of the above” is why Harper might get his way.
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As usual, Dave, thoughtful stuff – and good perspective on how what we all see down here translates up to the Northern parts. Here’s a link to what I thought was a good read on the same general subject:
http://barbarous-relic.blogspot.com
Take care, John
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The article is hard to argue with – it covers a lot and I generally agree with much of it – but it ends with an optimistic view of the future due to technology. And I don’t doubt that much either but it is TIME that is the factor for us old-guys. I see a downhill run for the foreseeable future and the bulk of the future for me is all downhill. So, let’s say I got 25 years left….can we collapse our scarcity-based economy and replace it with an abundance-based one in 25 years? Will the replicators show up in time? When they ship me my nano-bots, how am I gonna see ’em? And, in the meantime, what about the jackboots at my front door? Time, John….do we have enough…?
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