July 31: Worse and worse.

There will probably be no blog on August 2. I shall probably be visiting family at a nearby shore.
___________________________________________________________

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump

Wow, highest Poll Numbers in the history of the Republican Party. That includes Honest Abe Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. There must be something wrong, please recheck that poll!

Duh! Donald is lying again. For a start, if you want to brag about poll numbers, you have to take into account Democrats, too. And the biggest winner, by far, in either party (and for longer), was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And all four of his terms were in much tougher economic times.
Among Republicans George Bush Jr. beat Trump at the time of 9/11 and later. So did Reagan.  As for beating Abraham Lincoln - puhlease - polling methods were in their infancy then - and not very good.

Trump is holding on to his base. But  he hasn't expanded it.
_________________________________________________________________

This next story follows an old, old pattern. Israel will not allow Palestine any contact with the rest of the world - not even to get  medical help to a people savaged by Israel.

http://rabble.ca/babble/international-news-and-politics/freedom-flotilla-boat-carrying-medical-supplies-gaza-hijacked

But let's remember that we are the ones who made Israel the brutal state that it is. Israelis remember the holocaust when over 6 million Jews died. And they know we didn't lift a finger to help them. They also know that the only reason we gave them Israel was to get rid of them so we wouldn't have them.

The result is an Israel that is a dreadfully shredded specimen of Judaic principles, the Nazi Germany of our time.  A far, far better solution would have been to create a Jewish nation on Canadian or American soil. And we, too, would have been the winners. We have a lot to learn from Judaism.

For the greater part of my life, most of my friends were Jews. And they opened a whole new world to me.

They were much more intelligent than Christians. Now, that's not a racist statement. Jews are not born smarter than Christians. But, in my teaching experience, they did better than Christians. The reason has nothing to do with race. It has to do with a religious outlook that encourages discussion, debate and thought.

Christians often don't like that. When I was in high school as a student, the Jewish kids did much better than Christians did. That was because, unlike Christianity, Judaism encouraged study, debate, and interest in social issues. That's why my talks in Montreal were commonly to Jewish groups.

They even got penalised for doing well in high school. Jewish kids routinely dominated the graduation rankings in the province of Quebec. But McGill routinely would accept them only if they had much higher grades than Christians.

I would learn that when I spoke to Christian groups, they were most interested in hearing jokes. But when I spoke in synagogues. the demand was for a serious talk. I miss that.
_____________________________________________________________
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/downloadable-guns-3d-printer-cody-wilson-august-1-1.4764082

It will also be possible to send these printers all over the world so that anybody who wants a gun can get one - really, really cheap.
_______________________________________________________________
And, yes. Climate change is happening.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/31/chinas-most-populous-area-could-be-uninhabitable-by-end-of-century

So New Brunswickers should be sure to vote Conservative and help the oil business to kill their children.
_____________________________________________________________

The 'Christian' West has created this world's millions of refugees with our wars and exploitation and plundering. And, oh, we are going to see much, much more terrible consequences.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/31/the-guardian-view-on-the-uk-and-child-refugees-unfair-unlawful-inhumane
______________________________________________________________

The UN, the organization we told our veterans would prevent future wars has been rendered ineffective almost from the day it was born. The worst country in destroying it and it's purpose was and is the U.S. Now, we are letting it go broke. Remember that on November 11.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jul/27/un-running-out-of-cash-and-facing-urgent-cuts-warns-chief-antonio-guterres
_________________________________________________________________

Oh, I'm so happy we look after our rich people in Canada. Bless them.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/31/canada-richest-families-same-wealth-12-million-people-report

Should we ask the Liberals and Conservatives about this? I mean, it's nice that we don't ask them to pay taxes. But surely we could do more to make them happy.
______________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/31/climate-change-denial-oil-companies-fossil-fuels

Funny how our capitalists think only of 3 months at a time (their quarterly reports). They're going to lose heavily, and soon.  So shouldn't we be getting ready to pass around the hat for them?
________________________________________________________________
http://rabble.ca/columnists/2018/07/justin-trudeau-has-problem-named-doug-ford
_______________________________________________________________

http://rabble.ca/news/2018/07/hate-and-toronto-sun

Alas! It's not just the Toronto Sun. Almost all of the western news media promote racial hatred.
_________________________________________________________

Note -  to see the film, you have to press the starter just below the opening photo.

http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/talking-radical-radio/2018/07/inspiring-community-action-climate-change-through-film
_______________________________________________________________

https://countercurrents.org/2018/07/25/first-aid-for-victims-of-heat/
___________________________________________________________

Here's a look at how these 'brave servants of their country" really behave. Remember this on Nov. 11, too. It this what American fought and died for in World War 2?

https://countercurrents.org/2018/07/31/it-is-time-for-the-government-and-military-to-be-held-accountable/
______________________________________________________________

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/07/30/no-private-schools-arent-better-educating-kids-public-schools-why-new-study-matters

I taught for most of my life from grade 7 to university. I worked with public school teachers and private school teachers. In my experience, public school teachers were the best in the business, next private school teachers and, bringing up the rear, university teachers.
_________________________________________________________

The U.S. is heading for one hell of a crash.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/31/how-will-they-pay-it-trump-plan-would-bypass-congress-hand-rich-another-100-billion
______________________________________________________________
Funny how the irving press missed this story - just as it's missed all the stories about climate change, wildfires, etc. all over the world this summer.

https://consortiumnews.com/2018/07/30/gaza-flotilla-ship-al-awda-violently-seized-by-israelis-uss-liberty-survivor-amongst-those-captured/
______________________________________________________________

The Christian world in action...

https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-us-backed-coalition-in-yemen-triggering-another-massive-cholera-epidemic/5649216

Let's all sing together - Jesus wants me for a sunbeam....
______________________________________________________________

https://www.globalresearch.ca/5649188-2/5649188

Canada has been dragged into this. And watch. Canada will be asked (told) to contribute troops to another American invasion - and probably soon.
______________________________________________________________

And this is also happening in Canada.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/near-lowest-ever-us-corporate-taxes-great-wealth-transfer-heist-from-ordinary-americans-to-corporate-billionaires/5649032
____________________________________________________________

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49953.htm
_______________________________________________________________

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49950.htm
__________________________________________________________

I don't know how accurate a picture we are getting in this next item. What's interesting is how our perception of people and countries are shaped by the pictures we see of them. Almost all the images we see of North Korea are ugly. Here's a different version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV2RQCZqsTk&feature=youtu.be
_______________________________________________________________
Another story the irving press didn't have room for.

https://theintercept.com/2018/07/31/ahed-tamimi-released-palestine-child-prisoners/
___________________________________________________________
https://thesaker.is/erratic-empire-downfalling/
_____________________________________________________________

A sobering thought.

Go to youtube. Type in '10 Most Evil Empires'. Don't take the numbers as being precise. Figures for any war are never precise, and usually not even close. It's probably best to take these as minimum deaths.

Japan in World War 2?  8 million.
Belgium in Congo and just in the first 50 years.  20 million - almost certainly an understatement.
Spain.  5 million in South America.
Nazi Germany? 6,000,000 Jews.

British Empire? Wait for it.  150,000,000. How's that for mass murder? God bless the Queen. Send her victorious, happy and glorious.

And almost all these figures are understated. There are, for example, none at all for the millions of Africans who died in the slave trade. They died in capture; they died on the slave ships due to horrible conditions; They died when they arrived.

Curious, though. The U.S. is not listed at all. Gee! This is the country that killed its native peoples by the millions. And its slaves in transit. On that alone it beats everybody but the British.  Then there is its century of slaughter in South America, its conquest of The Philippines, its millions of civilians killed in Japan, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Yemen, its daily drone bombers all over the world, its unreported slaughter of Guatemalans....

Funny how the U.S. never made the youtube list.

And there's another sad note. Long before the discovery of the new world, there was another Empire ravaging North America - the Comanche Empire.

I guess we all have more than a touch of greed and evil.
_______________________________________________________________
The New Brunswick corner.
______________________

A very fine journalist who knows New Brunswick well.

https://www.facebook.com/thedennisreport/videos/1974427519464384/
_______________________________________________________________

Have  you noticed New Brunswick is having a provincial election? It's a pretty quiet election. Why is that?

The irving newspapers have barely mentioned it. Why is that?

The irving papers, while saying little about the election, have been running criticism of the Liberals for some months now. All of cartoonist Adder's cartoons about the election have attacked the Liberals. Most commentaries on the election and other local topics have been critical of only the Liberals. Why is that?

Much of the criticism has focussed on the Liberal overspending on their budgets.
Okay. But the reason they have to overspend is that the wealthy of New Brunswick and all of Canada don't pay a cent in tax, so we get ripped off for billions of dollars every year. How come the irving press never mentions that?

Anyway, if we don't overspend, then we don't have enough money to pay for little things like education, or decent housing, or medical care. So, yes, there is money the Conservatives would save - but at one hell of a price for most of the province's population. But the irving press doesn't mention that, either.

So what is this very quiet election really all about?

I don't promise this is the right answer - but its very, very likely that it is.

There is pressure on to develop shale gas in New Brunswick. And that pressure would not be there unless Mr. Irving wants it. The pitch, very quietly, is that it's no big deal. We will be told that shale gas isn't as dirty as other forms of gas.

But that's a white lie.

It isn't exactly as dirty, perhaps, but it still is dirty. And we have no idea how much more our planet can tolerate of that dirt, or how much time we have to deal with carbon emissions of all sorts.  (Notice how little comment the irving press has had on our current hot spell? How could they miss a story like this? Intense heat here. Over a hundred deaths in Quebec and British Columbia. Massive fires all over the world, even within the Arctic circle. Massive crop starvation and famine. But scarcely a word in the irving press. More is on the way for future years. Tokyo is already very worried about the effect of climate change on its Olympics two years from now. We are facing the greatest climate crisis in millions of years. We have no idea how much time we have to deal with it. But that doesn't bother the irving press. It just goes dum-de-dum-dumb.)

And if the irving press is following a line, any line, you can bet it's the one Mr. Irving told it to follow.

The irvings have at least two concerns here. One is they want to develop shale gas, no matter what it's effect on our environment and no matter what damage it may do to private properties.

That's why an former Irving executive is the leader of the Conservative Party. That's not a coincidence.

And it's possible he also wants something else - an oil pipeline from Albert to New Brunswick. No matter how dangerous climate change gets, he and his fellow oil barons are determined to keep selling massive amounts of oil for generations to come. ----Well, as many generations as will survive this greed and stupidity.

The Liberal party is nothing to admire. The Conservative party is the more actively dangerous one, though, and evil in the greed it represents.

That's not new because both parties are not really political parties at all. Real political parties have a base for their philosophy of government. They believe in social values that a party should represent. It's almost a religious philosophy. Indeed, that why the old NDP that gave us medicare had quite a few clergy in its ranks - including Rev. Tommy Douglas who led the fight for medicare.

Such parties see politics as a way to care for the needs of the whole of society. But that has never been true of either the Liberals or Conservatives. For those parties, it has always been a game of serving the  interests of the rich. That's why instead of having a philosophy of any kind, they simply produce gimmicks as if they were running an office.Oh, and they also pedal the myth that the very rich make us all wealthy. That is pure rubbish. The reality is that the very wealthy pick the pockets of all of us. The irvings actually cost us money.

But no, the Liberals and Conservatives often refer to their work as being just like running an office. But that's not what it should be at all. It should be about creating a society of equality of opportunity, of help for the poor, of basic living needs of all .....  But all they ever offer is a few favours that usually serve the rich and hurt the other 99%).

The NDP and The Greens, while short of what they should be, at least have the foundations of a philosophy - and, under those circumstances, it's extremely unwise of them not to unite.They are, really, the only genuine political parties in this province.

So who will win? Well, in most of the world, people have very, very little honest information about the wealthy who control them. And even in that context, New Brunswick is low on the list since it gets almost all of its information from one of the worse newspaper chains in the world. (This is  no off-the-cuff statement. It is for real.) Nor are private radio stations much help since many of them are owned by irving---And none of them have a decent news staff. (That's true of all privately owned radio stations I have known. Most of the news they give us is taken from the daily paper.)

Under these circumstances, the winner will be either the Liberals or the Conservatives. It's too close yet to call - though I expect to see a big increase in criticism of the Liberals in the irving papers. It'll be shallow criticism - like de Adder's cartoons always are - but effective.

And New Brunswickers, in either case, will get shafted - again.

In short - the behaviour of the Conservative Party in this election is contemptible. At a time when we face the problem of immense climate change and all its effects, it is a party that can think only of profits for a local billionaire. The Liberal party isn't quite as bad - but close enough. And it looks as if one of those is going to win.
_________________________________________________________________

In today's New Brunswick papers, there are three points worth considering.

1. On the editorial page, irving faithful Norbert Cunningham has yet another commentary attacking the Liberals. This seems to the the election strategy for the irving press. Say nothing about the Conservatives - or about the election - but attack the Liberals. The real issue for this election is, I'm pretty sure, giving Mr. Irving the open door to develop fracking for shale gas. But nobody's talking about it. The strategy is to sneak it by.

2. Then there's a commentary by the People's Alliance of New Brunswick party.
Essentially, it's platform is to give the people of New Brunswick whatever they want. And that is presented as something desirable.

Well - Hitler and Mussolini both gave the people what they wanted. Three cheers for Hitler and Mussolini. The reality is that giving the people what they want is NOT what political parties are for.

In the first place, voters of this province have very little knowledge of what it is needed. And that's common all over the world. And there are some things people want that are very, very bad for them. The purpose of a party should be to stand for the values it feels are essential - and to sell itself to the voters on that basis.

If the People's Alliance is simply going to do what people tell it to do, then it should dump all those overpriced politicians, close the legislature, and hire a committee of five or so to announce laws, and then hold a provincial vote on which ones should pass.

No. The People's Alliance is simple-minded. It really has no platform at all.

3. The commentary page or today's irving press also has an INTELLIGENT column. Yes. It must have sneaked in. It's by a professor Sylvain Charlebois who, it seems,  is NOT one of the those dishonest professors who kiss up to the irvings.  No. This is quite an intelligent column on the dramatic changes in our food merchandising.

___________________________________________________________

Please note that, working alone for an afternoon, I was able to find 25 stories of World importance.  The irving press, with all its editors and reporters for this same day, did not have a single world news story.

Nor did it have (today or any other day) a story on the implications and meaning of the world heat wave that has struck us.

All of these untold stories have powerful implications for us. The instability of the world and the aggressiveness of the U.S. could well see us in the wars that are shaping up. Very soon, we could find ourselves fighting a war for the U.S. - a war that could well turn into a world war.  And nobody would win that one.

And the  heat wave? What will this change of climate do to us in the coming years? Will it kill people as it's killed over a hundred just in Quebec and BC? Will it turn forest fires loose as it doing all over the world, destroying property and humans?

What plans does New Brunswick have for this? Burning more gas? That doesn't seem a logical thing to do. This change is also radically affecting the oceans.

What does that mean for the New Brunswick fisheries?

There has never been a word about any of this in the New Brunswick press. It wastes our time on trivia like the latest story of some minor criminal in court.

I confess. I really miss speaking with audiences. And I'm bored. In Montreal, I was accustomed to such talks anywhere from 50 to ninety times a year. I was also on radio at least twice every day for years - and frequently on TV. But, oh, there's  none of that in Moncton. And I'm bored.

If any kind hearted group wants to invite me, to speak/discuss, I'd be delighted.

July 28:The Daily Greed

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/heat-warning-change-environment-canada-1.4762636

Note the death rate in BC from heat. Gee! It's lucky climate change isn't happening.
______________________________________________________________

New Brunsick - star player in the latest crisis.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/frequently-asked-questions-about-blue-green-algae-1.4763291
_______________________________________________________________
Climate change ain't happenin'?

Then you won't be disturbed by these items.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/164dc7ae5f18707b

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/deadly-wildfire-bruns-california-towns-residents-redding-1.4763905

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/27/extreme-global-weather-climate-change-michael-mann

I'm sorry, of course, to interfere with oil profits for our hard-working billionaires. But at some point we have to get real. And building a pipeline from Alberta to BC, and other from Alberta to the Atlantic is no way to get real.

Our oil barons  have to get used to it. We cannot survive more use of fossil fuels. We cannot risk more oil spills.

So why is Trudeau using our tax money for this greed and idiocy?
________________________________________________________________

The "brave, new world" Canadians fought and died for.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/28/migrant-children-selling-sex-to-escape-from-italy-to-france-says-charity
_____________________________________________________________
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jul/20/97-of-house-republicans-foolishly-reject-carbon-taxes

They aren't the only foolish ones. Check out the irving press. It has consistently refused to recognize climate change. Throughout this record  hot summer, it has consistently ignored the topic - except for a commentary or two about how getting rid of carbon tax would be good for us.
______________________________________________________________
https://countercurrents.org/2018/07/28/americas-allies-against-russia-iran-main-u-s-allies-are-saudi-arabia-uae-al-qaeda-isis-israel-nazis/
__________________________________________________________
https://countercurrents.org/2018/07/28/prosecution-of-julian-assange-is-persecution-of-american-ideals/
___________________________________________________________

The corruption of  the political systems of Canada and the U.S. is not new. It long ago destroyed democracy.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/07/25/who-represents-us-when-our-political-parties-represent-only-corporations

But don't expect a story on this in New Brunswick's irving press.  On this day, the leading party in New Brunswick's election is the Conservative party with its long history of kissing up to the billionaires, with its leader a man who is an irving executive, and with neither Conservatives nor Liberals having anything that looks like a policy.  Lord love a duck! Talk about a passive voting public!
______________________________________________________________
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/27/unprecedented-heat-wave-fueling-arctic-fires-made-more-twice-likely-climate-change
________________________________________________________________

According to the irving press and its 'authorities' like Dr. DeSavoie, billionaire capitalists make us all rich. The reality is that our low salaries and our kiss up Liberals and Conservatives are what make us poor and billionaires richer.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/07/27/the-fairy-tale-about-capitalism/
_____________________________________________________________

New Brunswick is now "preserving" its forests by a massive cutting down of them, and by spraying them (and us) with chemical poisons.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/07/27/let-forests-restore-themselves/

Let's get real. Our forests have been preserving themselves quite well for more years than we can count. Any destruction they've had has been caused by us.
_________________________________________________________________

And the story that attracted the attention of editors over most of the world - but not those of our irving press.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/ahed-tamimi-speaks-of-her-struggle-all-i-wish-is-for-palestine-to-be-free/5625807
________________________________________________________________

Here's some background to that story.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/slapping-an-israeli-soldier-more-newsworthy-than-shooting-a-palestinian-child-in-the-face/5626430?utm_campaign=magnet&utm_source=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles
_____________________________________________________________
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49930.htm
______________________________________________________________

The irving press often supports privatization of medecine because, you know, capitalists are much more efficient that governments are. Well---except.....

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/the-us-is-most-dangerous-developed-nation-to-give/
_____________________________________________________________
Imagine what would happen if 10,000 nuclear bombs were exploded.

https://theantimedia.com/fukushima-radioactive-california-wine/

There would not be any winner in a nuclear war. And U.S. capitalists have given every sign that such a war is just what they want.
________________________________________________________________

The Bible says "thou shalt not kill". But who cares? Certainly the Christian churches don't.

https://theintercept.com/2018/07/26/us-special-operations-africa-green-berets-navy-seals/
__________________________________________________________

https://truthout.org/articles/reports-allege-sexual-offenses-missing-children-at-immigrant-youth-shelters/
_____________________________________________________________

In his tweets, Trump routinely brags about growth in the U.S. economy. What he doesn't mention is that most of that growth goes into the pockets of the super wealthy.

https://truthout.org/articles/most-workers-are-struggling-as-trump-and-corporate-media-tout-economic-growth/
____________________________________________________________
https://theintercept.com/2018/07/27/mick-mulvaney-consumer-protection-corporate-fines/
____________________________________________________________
https://thesaker.is/us-is-going-to-have-to-face-reality-russias-superweapons-are-far-superior-to-natos/

It really doesn't matter whose weapons are superior. Any major war now would destroy all of us.
____________________________________________________________
The U.S. has just accepted a boost of military spending to almost 750 billion dollars for the year. It is also working on western Europe and Canada to do "their share" by increasing military spending. All of this will add up to a world record in military spending. And this in a world in which no major war is winnable for anybody.

So why the push for military spending and for Canada to 'do it's share?' It's because the world's biggest weapons billionaires are in the U.S. Their profits are enormous, particularly since they have a habit of losing track of the billions given to them. This is all a gimmick to feed already bloated American weapons manufacturers.

The only country that has attacked Canada since the 1750's is the U.S. And Canada's only potential attacker is the U.S. Will Trudeau buy into this? You bet he will.

As Eisenhower warned, the U.S. military-industrial complex has stuffed its own pockets while impoverishing at least 40% of Americans. And all for a war that only a maniac would fight.
__________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

Russians are evil.  Yes, they are. Americans are good. Yes, they are. That's been the message of our news media since 1945. (Before that, Russian were good for a few years; then they became evil again.)

Putin is the great satan to democracies all over the world. The U.S. is bringing Jesus to the world. It creates democracies all over the world. Yes, it does. Thus says a letter to editor of the Moncton Times and Transcript of July 27, - "Sickened by Trump and Putin." And, oh, it says it reminds the writer of George Orwell's prophecies of doom.

Alas! That 'letter to the editor' writer doesn't seem to understand what Orwell was talking about.

Trump and the U.S. have supported dictatorship all over the world. Ever hear of Saudi Arabia? Of Guatemala? Of the overthrow of the elected government of Haiti? Of some 75 American wars in less than 75 years?  of it's killing of millions? Of it's starving of civilians, especially infant, in Yemen? Indeed, is it really possible to call the U.S. itself a democracy when it's elected representatives are the servants of billionaires?

Where did this writer get these warped ideas?

From our news media, of course.

In World War 2, our news media heaped praise on the Russian people. But as soon as the war ended, they became evil.  And, yes, I don't doubt that Stalin was evil and a threat to western Europe. But as a threat to the world, he came nowhere close to the U.S. with it's constant wars. And we'll just pass lightly over the American murder of 2 million German prisoners of war in 1945. And we won't even mention the millions killed by the U.S. after 1945 including the infants being starved to death in Yemen, or the cholera turned loose in that country. Nor will we mention the concentration on killing civilians in North Korea, in Iraq, in Syria, in Vietnam....  And the drone bombers that kill innocent people all over the world? Hey. These are people with Christian values!

Almost every president since 1945 has been a ruthless killer of quite innocent people in Latin America, Asia, Africa. George Bush Sr. was the mastermind for the mass murder of civilians in Guatemala. George Jr. killed millions in Afghanistan and Iraq in wars that were quite unnecessary - and illegal for the U.S. to enter in the first place. And then there have been the uncounted killings by drone bombers....a high proportion of them civilians and even wedding parties.

The U.S. has been using torture on a mass scale ever since (and before) 1945.

But, in our news media,  that's not evil. No. And so the killers proudly March in American cities wearing their medals amid cheering 'Christians'.

The U.S. starves people in Africa. It imposes crippling sanctions on countries that want to run their own affairs - Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, any country that is so evil that it doesn't want to be run by those nice, American billionaires.

And not just Americans. The British Empire was as brutal as they come with mass murder and plunder all over the world. Our hero, Churchill, is the man who introduced the bombing of helpless civilians in Kurdistan back in 1920. Later, in India, he would deliberately allow 150 million to starve to death. Churchill had
 a long history of brutality; but it never made the news.

After the war was over, he thanked the British people for their efforts. But he did nothing to help them after their years of suffering. All his affection went to his very wealthy friends.

The reality is that Canada's nearest allies are as brutal, murderous, plundering as they come. Germans and Japanese (who used to be terribly evil) are now our good friends.  And that's odd-----

-----because our news media defined them as evil in World War 2.  And now they define Russians (and Chinese and North Koreans) as evil by definition. That sort of thinking is what is called racism - the idea that people are evil because they are born that way.  And that sort of evil is what Hitler stood for.

The reality is that we all have a capacity for evil in us. It has nothing to do with race. There are evil Chinese, Russians, Americans, Canadians....but that's not the way our news media play it. They ignore the massive evil of prominent Americans, Canadians, British ...... And they create evil out of people who are simply trying to protect themselves against us.

You think Muslim terrorists are evil? Think hard. We've been murdering and plundering and cheating muslims for a century. So, since 1950 or so, they've been shooting back.  And now they're evil and we aren't?  How many Moslem armies have invaded the U.S.? How many American and British armies have invaded Africa and the middle east?

Almost all of our news media are racist, just as Hitler was racist. So we get a steady news diet of how evil they are. In reality, there is no reason to believe that Russians and Chinese are any more racist and evil than we are. (which is bad enough, it's true.)

We are infested with a greedy and merciless capitalism which is destroying our planet, which freely sends its young people out to kill and be killed to make billionaires richer, which avoids paying taxes for services that we need, but now cannot  have.

But that's not the way our news media tell it.  Instead, our news media teach us to hate.  And that's why we get hysterical letters to the editor like the one in the July 27 edition of the Moncton Times and Transcript.

Get real. Trump's meeting with Putin was the most intelligent thing he's done. The world cannot possibly survive a world war. But people like our letter to the editor writer are guaranteeing just such a war.

Oh - why do our billionaires want a popular fear and hatred of Russia?

1. Popular fear of Russia is what justifies the biggest budget deficits in world history - and with all the profits going to the war industries. And...

2. Since 1945, the American wealthy have been obsessed with conquering the world which then, like the U.S. itself, will then be owned by them. The major opposition to them is Russia and China. So we in the Christian world gotta kill-em.
______________________________________________________________

A footnote for New Brunswick readers -

The big, front-page story - the news YOU need to know - is about a dog that barks when it's master practices karate.

Also front page is the story of a woman whose daughter disappeared 2 years ago. And, a year ago, the woman died without knowing what happened to her daughter.

This is news? No. There's nothing we can do about it. Yes, it's sad. And that's the kind of not-news story that journalists call a sob story. Good newspapers don't carry sob stories.

The owner of New Brunswick's forest is a big story on page 3 because he has just planted the billionth tree on the forest he now owns. And it's for his own profit since his company will some day get to cut down that tree.

And for that we get a big story, full of praise for this man (who also owns the newspaper.) Of course,   this is also the brave preserver of our trees  who sprays then and us with poison chemicals.

Then there's an editorial about Moncton City thinking of taking over a water plant. The writer says we must leave ideology out of the discussion. Then he raves about the excellence of his own ideology of handing the whole thing over to private business.

Below that, Norbert Cunningham has a commentary "Show Respect for voters and democracy". Then he shows no respect for either voters or democracy. He follows the current passion of his paper for the Conservative Party with yet another attack on the Liberals. That has been consistent. It spends, he says, too much.  As usual, he doesn't bother to mention that the biggest capitalist in New Brunswick, and the one who owns all the newspapers, doesn't pay any income tax at all. Gee! I wonder if that's why we're always in deficit.

But I'm sure things will be much better if the Conservatives win. (though I haven't seen anything resembling a policy from either Conservatives or Liberals. but the Conservatives will be better because their leader has been a career flunky for the Irvings. So there.

Then it has another commentary by a propaganda house for the rich - ForestNB.
All development must be by the private sector. Yes. And guess who owns ForestNB.

The paper has no Canadian or world news worth reading. And not even any local news worth reading. No wonder most New Brunswickers are going to keep voting for the two parties that have been betraying them for over a hundred and fifty years.

And a footnote. Climate change is happening. It will destroy us. It is destroying us. We don't know how much time we have to correct it. That's why we have to act now. This is not the time to let greedy morons control our governments.

July 26: The news is bad, very bad.

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 56m56 minutes ago

This week, my Administration is hosting the first-ever #IRFMinisterial. The U.S. will continue to promote #ReligiousFreedom around the world. Nations that support religious freedom are far more free, prosperous & peaceful. Great job, @VP, @SecPompeo, @IRF_Ambassador & @StateDept!

Nations that support religious freedom are more peaceful? If so, the U.S. should copy them. It has been the biggest aggressor in the world since 1945 And it may well have been the biggest, counting its slaughter of native peoples and Latin America, in all history.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/25/north-korea-fissile-material-nuclear-weapons-pompeo

News media, often uncritically, report statements by 'our side'. North Korea is a threat to the U.S.? North Korean nukes could, (maybe), reach the U.S. west coast -  which is defended by anti-nuclear weapons. The U.S. has a large army in South Korea. And an airforce that routinely flies over North Korea. And a navy that patrols Korean waters.

The U.S. (illegally) forbids North Korea to trade with many countries.

North Korea MIGHT be building nuclear missile submarines? The U.S. already has a fleet of them.

I'm sure North Koreans aren't fools, and they know that any, even minor, attack on the U.S. would mean the obliteration of North Korea.

But in this news story, it's just the North Koreans who are evil and brutal.
________________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/25/trump-michael-cohen-tape-audio-broadcast-cnn

Trump hires women for sex? So did Clinton. So did John F. Kennedy - though our news media never mentioned that. Theodore Roosevelt had a long time love affair with his secretary.

It's wrong, of course. But  it's so common, there's a whole industry built around it. Why the special attention to Bush?
________________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jul/25/trump-cuts-cause-250-job-losses-at-un-agency-for-palestinian-refugees

Trump wouldn't dream of cutting off the right of the very wealthy to escape hundreds of billions in taxes every year. (He almost certainly takes advantage of that himself.) But poverty-stricken Palestinians are fair game.
______________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/26/communists-capitalism-stalinism-economic-model

This article is a British opinion. But it applies equally to most of the world. Any system that is allowed to run out of control is brutal, murderous and, in the end,  devastating even to itself. That is as true of capitalism as of any other. And we are about to learn that in a most painful way.

New Brunswickers might think of that when they are deciding which capitalist party they will vote for - Liberals or Conservatives. They might even think of it when they are seated in the Irving Chapel and thinking - "What does Christianity mean? Is this really what Jesus had in mind?" Nah. Anybody who attends the Irving Chapel doesn't think.
____________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/22/cuba-ditches-aim-of-building-communism-from-draft-constitution

The billionaires who are the real American government couldn't care less what Cuba says its economic system is. Their persecution of Cuba never had anything to do with that. They just want control of it to satisfy their own greed.
____________________________________________________________
It happens here, too. And for the same reason. Greed, the illegitimate son of stupidity.

https://countercurrents.org/2018/07/26/the-environmental-suicide/
_______________________________________________________________

Our irving press didn't have room for this story. (or any other).
It is very likely that at least hundreds of these children will  never see their parents again.

https://countercurrents.org/2018/07/25/trump-administration-deported-up-to-463-immigrant-parents-without-their-children/

The U.S. could stop border crossings tomorrow - and without a wall. It just has to let the people of Latin America (and not American billionaires) run their own countries.
_______________________________________________________________

http://rabble.ca/columnists/2018/07/trudeau-gaslights-canadian-women-and-ignores-their-safety

Nor is there any sign the Conservatives would do better. But having more women mps would be a help.
____________________________________________________________

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/yves-englers-blog/2018/07/capitalism-where-taxpayers-bail-out-rich
_______________________________________________________________
Our irving press frequently (read daily) publishes commentaries from various propaganda houses, among them Atlantic Institute of Market Studies, The Fraser Institute, and Canadian Taxpayers' Federation. These are all groups funded by billionaires. (Which is why none of them ever carries a story about how New Brunswick's wealthy avoid paying taxes.) And they're all, as irving editors know, liars.

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/alberta-diary/2018/06/canadian-taxpayers-federation-partner-right-wing-us-based-atlas#at_pco=smlrebv-1.0&at_si=5b59fc596db6eb65&at_ab=per-2&at_pos=1&at_tot=5
________________________________________________________________

://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/netanyahu-absolves-hitler-of-guilt-1.5411578

Like the editors at Haaretz, I don't believe  this one. Netanyahu is at his old game of breeding hatred of arabs - so he makes them the founders of the holocaust. In fact, arabs and Jews lived together in peace in the middle east until after 1945.
As for Hitler, it's true that he had no personal hatred of Jews. (In fact, Hitler arranged for his mother's doctor (a Jew) to escape.) He was worse than a hater. He  was a man who could happily kill them by the millions because it built his power throughout Europe. In the same way, American billionaires can happily kill North Koreans, Afghanis, Yemenis, Syrians and Iraqis simply because it's to their advantage.
_____________________________________________________________

This isn't news. But it's fascinating. If you've been thinking of subscribing to Haaretz, reading this could make the difference.

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-when-the-jews-believed-in-other-gods-1.6315810
_______________________________________________________________

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/25/poverty-criminalized-wealth-immunized-report-shows-corporate-crime-enforcement-has
_____________________________________________________________

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/07/25/who-represents-us-when-our-political-parties-represent-only-corporations

This is a question New Brunswickers might ask of the Conservatives and Liberals. Get used to it. Both of those parties are bought.
______________________________________________________________

(The Gray Lady is a reference to the New York Times.).

https://consortiumnews.com/2018/07/25/the-gray-lady-thinks-twice-about-assanges-prosecution/
______________________________________________________________
I have written, many times,  that greed creates its own stupidity. And so it does. We ended World War 2 pledged never to repeat such a horror. But U.S. billionaires immediately repeated it beginning with the Korean Warn and  then over seventy wars more. And Canada followed - because Canadian governments whether Liberal or Conservative have always obeyed their wealthy masters - and
those masters were eager to serve the U.S.

We abandoned everything Canadians had died for. And when Trump actually made a sensible move in seeking real peace with Russia our propaganda, billionaire news media jumped all over him. And he's backed off.

We are headed straight for world war. Enjoy.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/07/26/when-worse-is-the-enemy-of-bad/

I wish that someday The Canadian Legion would wake up and really speak for those who died instead of being puppets for billionaires whose greed demands war and death.The billionaires want war because war feeds their trillion dollar war industries. That's why the whole world is on a path to the final war.
___________________________________________________________

https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-u-s-enables-deliberate-saudi-attacks-on-civilian-targets-in-yemen/5648652

The irving press doesn't report on Yemen. Who cares if children are being bombed and/or starved to death?
_________________________________________________________

https://www.rt.com/news/434336-putin-trump-bugged-football/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49916.htmhttps://thinkprogress.org/fossil-fuel-industry-outspends-environment-groups-on-climate-new-study-231325b4a7e6/

Hey! If you can't trust billionaire oil bosses, who can you trust?
_______________________________________________________________

https://off-guardian.org/2018/07/25/iran-us-regime-change-project-is-immoral-and-illegal/
______________________________________________________________

https://theantimedia.com/

The U.S. is running out of water, including clean drinking water. You don't think this will lead to a demand for Canadian water? In fact, it has already happened.
Their is a possibility - amounting to a certainty - that the U.S. will demand full access to all Canadian water - invading Canada if necessary.

You worry about a Korean attack on Canada? An American one is far, far more likely.
________________________________________________________________

https://theintercept.com/2018/07/24/environmental-land-defenders-agribusiness-global-witness/

And Canada is NOT innocent in all this.
___________________________________________________________

https://truthout.org/articles/ocean-acidification-could-amplify-climate-disruption/

Don't worry. If this were true, the irving press would tell us.
_________________________________________________________________

Oh - in regard to the stories about Julian Assange, bear in mind that in publishing Wikkileaks, he was doing nothing illegal. The documents were sent to him. He published them. That's what a free press does. Watch for the U.S. to make his arrest on some other, cooked-up charge.
________________________________________________________________

https://thesaker.is/russia-is-preparing-for-a-perfect-storm-in-the-global-economy/

It's not just Russia. China is a much bigger player in this game. It holds a huge chunk of the U.S. debt - and it's dumping it, too.
_________________________________________________________________
http://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/national-today-newsletter-climate-change-global-heat-1.4760830

Climate change is for real. You won't read about in your news media owned by oil billionaires. But it's happening. And it leads straight to the most dangerous period in human history. We're seeing crop failures on a huge scale. We're seeing starvation. That's already happening. We're going to see many, many millions more of refugees despite the most brutal laws to keep them out. We're going to see the Liberals and Conservatives and Democrats and Republicans doing---nothing. They're not our servants. They're the servants of, among others, oil billionaires.

Most of our news media seem blissfully unaware of this. Our irving press very, very rarely mentions it. But it's happening, no matter what the irving press thinks. We don't know when the bite is going to start hitting us - but it's a safe bet that it will be sooner rather than later. We need every moment we have left to deal with this. And we aren't.

The irving press had a big commentary today by a local professor of economics who says we need to push now to get the oil pipeline through from Alberta to BC (which doesn't want it) and from Alberta to New Brunswick through a Quebec that doesn't want it. He says it is simply trade across provincial borders.

I guess he doesn't teach his classes that running a dangerous pipeline through a province that doesn't want it isn't a trade issue. And the editors at irving press must not know that either. In fact, this is not a trade issue. No trade is taking place. This is a question of spills that HAVE happened often, and will continue to happen with destructive and even fatal results. Provinces like BC and Quebec have a right - and a duty - to protect their environments and their people.

So far, Canada and the U.S. - especially the U.S. - have done little to nothing to prepare for what is coming. The U.S. is too busy throwing its money at weapons manufacturers who are bleeding the country dry. And Ottawa actually plans to pay for that pipeline!!

We are on the edge of disaster. Oil is a major cause of that. But the oil world is too greedy to allow us to deal with it. (It reminds of this province's forestry business - owned by the same man as our oil business. He insisted on chemical spraying of our forests though the chief medical officer had warned it was extremely dangerous to both animal and human life. And our provincial government?

It got rid of the chief medical officer, and continued the spraying. Of course. Both the Liberals and Conservatives were and still are owned - bought and paid for. And we actually vote for these corrupt politicians who, for a price, put our lives in danger.

 There's a big commentary in today's (July 25) paper "We must maximize oil profit potential". Yeah. It comes from what the editors damn well know is a propaganda house for billionaires.

The reality is that we are killing our own children. We needed to take action on climate change at least 40 years ago. We didn't do it. And most of our politicians didn't do it. We have left all the decision making to the greediest people in this world, people so greedy that they just don't think of the damage they are doing. And it never occurs to them that they will die with the rest of us.

Greed, like pigging on food all day, is a killer.

And spare me the churches that are almost obscenely ignoring the bulk of Jesus' teaching to concentrate on getting their own, miserable selves into heaven - and to hell with what  happens to their children.

This has to change. And I recognize it's going to be hard to change in New Brunswick which has the most passive and unthinking population I have ever seen. (That must be why it always elects such wonky governments.)

This passiveness may have a good deal to do with the province's low ranking on literacy. New Brunswick news media,  with the exception of the CBC, carry very, very little serious news about this province - or any place else. It's made worse because the people of this province maintain a village fear of thinking differently from everybody else.

That's why the irving press can get away with only six stories about Canada and World - and the World part is only two stories. All six are trivia.

____________________________________________________________

July 24:Lies and More Lies in this 'Free World'

Sometimes, even the CBC is very, very dishonest.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/syria-russia-white-helmet-1.4749380

The White Helmets are NOT heroes fighting to save their people from evil Syrians. They are a propaganda group financed by the U.S. government. And they feed hatred items to the western press about how evil Syrians are. And it's all done in the guise of risking their lives to save children. This has been well known now for many months. It's not possible that a news agency like the CBC doesn't know this.

White Helmets are part of a relatively small group of 'rebels' financed and armed by the U.S. to fight against the Syrian majority. Many, perhaps most, of them are more than that. They are muslim fanatics who the U.S. is supposed to be fighting. They are, what our press used to call, terrorists, fighters for ISIS. Why is the U.S. working with terrorists that it claims to be fighting?

That's because it couldn't care less what they are. This war has nothing to do with Syrians being 'evil'. It has to do with the U.S., especially its oil barons, eagerness to control oil and all other politics in the Middle East.

And it's disgusting to see the CBC playing this game.
__________________________________________________________

I never thought I'd  have to do this about a CBC report - but here's the truth about the White Helmets.

https://www.rt.com/news/434052-white-helmets-rescue-hypocrisy/

And...

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49900.htm
________________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/23/japan-heatwave-prompts-concern-over-conditions-for-2020-olympics

The above is all nonsense, of course. We all know that climate change isn't happening. If it were, Mr. Irving would tell us.
______________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/23/earths-resources-consumed-in-ever-greater-destructive-volumes

Nah. Can't happen here. The Conservatives and Liberals wouldn't let it happen.
_______________________________________________________________
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jul/23/rich-countries-pushing-dirty-energy-africa-report-claims

Another false story. We live in the illusion that leading capitalists would never, ever be so irresponsible as to as finance environmentally destructive projects - yeah, unless there was a profit in it. When will New Brunswickers catch on to that?
________________________________________________________________
The U.S. can't afford decent housing or security for its people. But it can spend billions for the benefit of billionaire weapons manufacturers.

https://theantimedia.com/my-news/153638/
_______________________________________________________________
The terrible thing about Julian Assange is that he released documents showing that the U.S. was using brutal tortures on prisoners all over the world. That's illegal. But the U.S. has never prosecuted the people who did it. Indeed, it continues to torture people all over the world - and at Guantanamo Bay.

But oh, Julian Assange has to suffer for making American sins known. For years, Julian Assange has been confined a room at the Ecuador embassy in London. Now, Ecuador is handing him over to Britain. And Britain, now essentially a servant of the U.S. empire, will hand him over to the U.S. to spend the rest of his life, if  he's lucky, in prison - and quite possibly with torture. To "Christian" America, torture is an American value.

/theantimedia.com/ecuador-julian-assange/
_________________________________________________________________

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/24/venezuela-inflation-million-percent-imf-warning

Venezuela is an oil-rich country. So why is it in such economic decline? Because U.S. and western oil barons want it that way. The news story barely touches on this. Instead, it emphasizes that the U.S. does not approve of Venezuela's last election. Oh, and  the Venezuela opposition doesn't approve. Of course not.

They wanted a government submissive to the oil companies. So they've made their political puppets impose extreme sanctions on Venezuela. Too bad the article doesn't explain that.
_________________________________________________________________
(The word 'goyim' is yiddish for non-Jew).

https://countercurrents.org/2018/07/24/israel-the-ultimate-racist-colony/
________________________________________________________________
The Iran story that didn't make the irving press.

https://countercurrents.org/2018/07/24/u-s-ratchets-up-war-threats-against-iran/
________________________________________________________________
http://gwynnedyer.com/2018/iran-no-plan-b-2/

This is very, very dangerous. The U.S. can certainly destroy Iran by bombing. But that would mean a tremendous uprising by most of the Muslim world, serious split from the U.S. by much of the western world and, quite likely, a world, nuclear war.

Can it win a conventional land war against Iran? Probably not. It's land wars since 1945 have not been impressive.
_________________________________________________________________
Essential reading for men.

http://rabble.ca/news/2018/07/wake-another-mass-shooting-toronto-we-have-keep-talking-about-male-violence
_____________________________________________________________

And here's an intelligent response.

http://rabble.ca/news/2018/07/walking-talk-our-movement-aims-get-more-women-politics
____________________________________________________________
The U.S. is far, far wealthier than Russia. It has a far, far greater defence budget. But it has something like a terror of Russia.  Why?

Here are some fascinating figures comparing wealth and power of Russia and  the U.S. The U.S. is far, far wealthier, has well over twice the population - and has a far, far more corrupt government.

Here are the figures. Take a good look.

https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/russia/usa?sc=XE23

So why are Americans taught to hate and fear Russia? One reason is that it does wonders for the very corrupt American defence industries in a country that otherwise would waste its money on providing health care and decent education for it citizens. (You will have noticed that Americans are all upset about Trump's meeting with Putin. That's because the defence industry needs American to hate and fear Russia. That's the reason they put up with an expensive and profoundly corrupt defence industry.)

The other is that the Russians have been much smarter.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/49902.htm
_______________________________________________________________

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/07/24/action-alert-its-been-over-year-msnbc-has-mentioned-us-war-yemen

How often  (if ever) have you seen a news story about the war in Yemen? Have you read that a million people in Yemen are dangerously ill with cholera - and the U.S. has cut off all medical supplies? Or that millions are dying of starvation- and the U.S. has long since cut off food?

Hitler wasn't evil. No. He was our model for today's behaviours.
______________________________________________________________

The irving press didn't have this story, either.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/24/truly-terrible-many-463-parents-have-already-been-deported-putting-family

New Brunswick is disappointing. I've never seen a society so cut off from reality, and so willing to accept the lies and triviality of its newspapers. There's a price for that. New Brunswick is paying it now - and it'll very soon be paying an even higher price for its complacency.
______________________________________________________________
There's been a lot of hysteria, almost all of it false and engineered.I'm no admirer of Trump. But not everything he does is wrong. His meeting with Putin was useful and very sensible.

https://consortiumnews.com/2018/07/20/meanwhile-about-those-other-issues-at-the-summit/
_________________________________________________________________

Canadians have become errand-runners for the U.S. And that is going to get much, much worse.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/canadian-government-offers-safe-haven-to-al-qaeda/5648369
_______________________________________________________________
Do you believe all the news stories about how Russia won the American election for Trump?

Get real.

No doubt some Russian computer aces could have convinced a few people. But over a hundred million?  No. American elections, for many years now, have been won by American multi-billionaires  (just as New Brunswick ones are now won by irving puppets.)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/07/23/koch-industries-is-staffing-up-with-voter-data-scientists-to-tip-the-november-election-to-the-ex
_______________________________________________________________
I  don't remember whether the irving press ran this story. Probably not. It prefers triviality.

http://theduran.com/north-korea-dismantling-missile-test-site-in-tangible-results-from-summit/
______________________________________________________________

We don't have much time left. Climate change is happening. Agricultural land is being destroyed at a tremendous rate. World starvation and poverty are spreading at an increasing rate. The world's wildlife on land and sea is being destroyed - thanks, especially, to the efforts of Donald Trump. This is all part of our population growth, our demands, - and greed. And, yes. It can happen here in Canada.

Democracy has long since been effectively destroyed as governments are bought by billionaires. In the U.S., democracy has just about vanished as both Democrats and Republicans have long since been bought.  That's why Congress spends most of its money on overpriced defence contracts for billionaires while leaving most Americans in the lurch for medical care, a living wage, care for the elderly, decent housing, quality education, equal opportunity.....

In Canada, the Liberals and Conservatives are taking us in the same direction. To be blunt, both parties are profoundly corrupt because the wealthy pay their bills for them. That's why we spray our forest with dangerous chemicals - dangerous to plant life, to animal life, and to us...  But nobody in government gives a damn as long as the wealthy are happy.

We still have some parties that are capable and honest. But they get ignored in most elections because they don't have enough money for campaigns - and because most people are pretty placid about all the corruption and destruction and bribery that's going on.

Here in New Brunswick, the Liberals and Conservatives have nothing whatever that could be called social policy - that is, policy which serves the needs of the people of this province. They have no understanding of such things as fundamental needs of a society. They are shallow. And they are bought.

Almost all news media, especially in New Brunswick, are essentially propaganda  houses. They are trivial, ill-informed, gutless. It is impossible to understand anything going on in this world from these media. Their only real purpose is to keep you and me ignorant.

What do the words Liberal and Conservative even mean? Any member of either party who claims to know the meaning of Liberal and Conservative is either a fool or a liar.  (Both terms lost their meaning long ago, even before Confederation.) Both are really the same shallow and dishonest party.

We are approaching the greatest crisis in recorded history. Our interference in the Middle East and Africa for over a century has the whole region in a chaos of starvation, instability, mass murder (mostly by us), as we have allowed capitalism a free hand in the region, murdering as it goes by the millions. Congo alone has suffered at least 10 million, probably many more going back well over a century. And that is now coupled by wide starvation and a chaos that has its people fleeing - often to death at sea.

Capitalism may be feasible. It might work with strict government controls. But it has been allowed  to become monstrously powerful and irresponsible. It now is producing wide poverty, even in countries where it is prospering. There really are no governments in most of the world. Most of those things we call governments are under the control of the greediest people this world has known.

And we are heading for one hell of an economic, social, and environmental collapse.  And probably soon.

Don't expect the capitalists to save  you. They won't even be able to save themselves.

Time is short. And the job facing us is huge, bigger than even the more intelligent parties realize. And we're dealing with a public stuffed by it's news media with propaganda and outright lies, a public that has always been too passive, too frightened, to realize what is coming.

If we don't deal with this very soon, expect bigger wars than this world has ever seen. Expect our children to be dragged into them. Expect widening poverty and starvation. (We should be seeing it now, but we don't because our news media aren't looking.)

In 1945, we made so many promises about how we were going to improve the world. And we haven't done a damn thing except to change the names of the empires that had been killing and plundering for centuries.

My, it would be interesting to publicly debate any of those twits who are running for the Liberals or Conservatives.
_______________________________________________________________

I shall stop after this next item about United Church ministers in Ontario.
(My computer is becoming very erratic, with strange changes that seem to follow nothing I have ever seen before. Damn! The final draught, which has misplaced margins, is one of those pieces of erratic behaviour.)

In this difficult time,  our Christianity, as it usually has throughout history, has mostly gone into hiding. Rather than rouse us to the evil that is in this world, it prefers to bless the bombs, and urges us to sing and praise our way into heaven.

That's why I found the following statement by United Church ministers in Ontario to be a welcome change.

• AN OPEN LETTER TO DOUG FORD

July 10, 2018

The Honourable Doug Ford
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1

Dear Premier Ford,

Congratulations on being given a mandate to form government and assume the role of Premier of Ontario. The people have given you the responsibility to lead the province with integrity, wisdom, and compassion.

As ministry leaders in The United Church of Canada who live and serve in Ontario, we are encouraged by your promise to listen to faith communities such as ours.We are asking the members of our congregations to be conscious of working with our government for the greater good of all Ontarians.

The communities we serve and lead may write to you on their own accord, but we write to you today as ministry colleagues who collectively wish to highlight a number of important issues. We ask that you and your colleagues keep them in mind throughout your term in elected office.

We recognize that much of your platform was centred on economic issues, planned economic reforms, and the pursuit of prosperity for the people of Ontario. We trust that the reforms your government introduces will take into consideration the poor and marginalized of society and will work towards advancing their prosperity. It is our experience that the weakest of our society are the most vulnerable to any change, even change that is warranted.

Although there are many issues that are of concern to us as United Church ministry leaders, these are the specific points we ask you to keep in mind as you assume office:1. The vulnerable and marginalized must not pay the cost of budget cuts. The poorest members of our society cannot break free of the cycles of poverty, hunger, homelessness, and poor medical care without programs that enable them to become healthy members of our communities. It is far too easy to fall between the cracks of our currently broken systems.

2. Safe, affordable housing for all Ontarians needs to be a priority so that all people can benefit from the physical and emotional safety and stability a good home provides. We are particularly concerned about the lack of quality housing options for people who live with disabilities, seniors with low incomes, and Indigenous people living on reserves.

3. It is a moral obligation to help those in need, particularly those fleeing for their lives from other countries. We ask you to do your utmost to welcome and support refugees and to embody a leadership style that is open and compassionate.

4. You have promised to make improvements to our health care system, notably doing away with hallway medicine. We encourage you to keep your promise in this regard and to deliver better access to healthcare for all Ontarians. We are particularly concerned for those struggling with addiction and ask that you give weight to the evidence that supports a variety of approaches to harm reduction.

5. We value teaching comprehensive sexual education in our schoolsand believe strongly that knowledge leads to better choices and better health outcomes.

6. Climate care is an expression of our call to be good stewards of God’s creation. We encourage your government to find and implement strategies that will reduce Ontario’s carbon emissions while contributing to a robust “green” economy. We are concerned that lower gas taxes and a move away from both solar technology and light rail transit will have an adverse impact on the environment in Ontario and beyond.

7. As the gap between rich and poor widens, access to higher education is becoming increasingly difficult for a growing number of people. Education in general needs to be a priority. As you have stated, Ontario can be one of the most competitive economies in the world. A well-educated workforce is key to that goal.

We appreciate your desire to unify all Ontarians in a vision of prosperity. We respectfully ask that this vision include the points we have raised, namely care of the vulnerable, affordable housing, support for refugees, quality healthcare, comprehensive sexual education in our schools, climate care, and access to higher education for all.

We would be pleased to meet you and with MPPs in our local areas to begin a dialogue about these matters. Lastly, we wish you well as you fulfil your mandate to serve all citizens of Ontario.

Yours sincerely,

Adam Hanley (Rev.), Toronto
Adam Kilner (Rev.), Sarnia
A. H. Harry Oussoren (Rev. Dr.), Ottawa
Alana Martin, Toronto
Alexa Gilmour (Rev.), Toronto
Alison Mock (Rev.), Mississauga
Alison Nicholson (Rev.), Hamilton
Allison Playfair (Rev.), Burlington
Allan Baker (Rev.), Toronto
Allan Smith-Reeve (Rev.), Peterborough
Amy Lee (Rev.), Toronto
Andrea Allan (Rev.), Embro
Anita Rowland (Rev.), Grand Valley
Anita Spiller (Rev.), Lincoln
Ann Harbridge, Rosemont
Anne Beattie-Stokes (Rev. Dr.), London
Anne Dionisio (Rev.), Toronto
Anne Meredith (Rev.), Brooklin
Barbara Clark (Rev.), Ilderton
Barbara Creelman, Denbigh
Barry King (Rev.), Toronto
Bill Boyd (Rev.), Parry Sound
Blair R. Paterson (Rev.), South Mountain
Bob Root (Rev. Dr.), Peterborough
Brian McIntosh (Rev.), Etobicoke
Bri-anne Swan, East Gwillimbury
Brad Morrison (Rev. Dr.), Sarnia
Brooke Belliveau (Rev.), Clarington
Caitlin MacKenzie, Jerseyville
Cameron Watts (Rev. Dr.), North York
Carey Wagner (Rev.), Wyoming and Watford
Carol-Ann Chapman (Rev.), Nobleton and Schomberg
Carol L. Hancock (Rev.), Bracebridge
Caroline Penhale (Rev.), Ottawa
Carolyn Smith, Mississauga
Catherine Gutjahr (Rev.), Ottawa
Cathy Gradante (Rev.), Campbellford
Cathy Taylor (Rev.), Sudbury
Ceri Rees (Rev.), Orono
Cheri DiNovo (Rev.), Toronto
Chris Fickling (Rev.), Kitchener
Christine Johnson (Rev. Dr.), Fitzroy Harbour
Cheryl Kirk (Rev.), Wallaceburg
Cheryl Kinney Matheson (Rev.), Kenora
Cheryl Wood Thomas (Rev.), Fort Erie
Christina Crawford, Sweaburg
Christina Paradela (Rev.), Lynden and Dundas
Christine Smaller (Rev.), Toronto
Christopher White (Rev.), Toronto
Cindy Randall (Rev.), Toronto
Colin Swan (Rev.), Comber
Cordelia Karpenko (Rev.), Ajax
Cory Vermeer-Cuthbert (Rev.), Elliot Lake
Curtis Marwood (Rev.), Blenheim
Craig Donnelly (Rev.), Lindsay
Cynthia O’Connell, Toronto
Cynthia R. Stretton (Rev.), Toronto
Daniel Benson (Rev.), Toronto
Daniel MacDonald, Cannington
Darlene Hardy, Woodstock
Dave Jagger (Rev.), Hamilton and London
David Lander (Rev.), Castleton and Grafton
David Moore (Rev.), Oshawa
Dawn Vaneyk (Rev.), Sudbury
Deanna Gibson (Rev.), Brigden
Deb Hinksman (Rev.), Delhi
Debbie McMillan (Rev.), Hamilton
Deborah Deavu (Rev.), Cambridge
Deborah Elliott (Rev.), Salem
Deborah Hart (Rev. Dr.), Toronto
Deborah Laforet (Rev.), Oakville
Deborah Poirier, Chesterville
Debra Kigar (Rev.), Burlington
Debra Schneider (Rev.), Toronto
Donald D. Wachenschwanz (Rev.), Prescott
Don Stiles (Rev.), Seeley’s Bay
Donna Bowman-Woodall (Rev.), Lake of Bays
Doug Wright (Rev.), Parkhill
Edward Wells (Rev.), Clarington
Elaine Beattie (Rev.), Ottawa
Eleanor Barrington (Rev.), Ottawa
Eleanor Scarlett (Rev.), Bolton
Elizabeth Boehm-Wilson (Rev.), Glenburnie
Elizabeth Bryce (Rev.), Ottawa
Elizabeth Cunningham (Rev.), Stouffville
Elizabeth Lemon (Rev.), Woodstock
Ellen Walker (Rev.), Kitchener
Emily Gordon (Rev.), Toronto
Eric Lukacs (Rev.), Ottawa
Erin Burns (Rev.), Ottawa
Erin McIntyre (Rev.), Dryden
Étienne LeSage (Rev.), Ancaster
Evelyn McLachlan (Rev.), Nobleton
Frances Combs (Rev.), Toronto
Frances Flook (Rev.), Emo
Fran Ota (Rev.), Mono Mills
G. David King (Rev.), Belleville
Gail A. C. Christy (Rev.), Ottawa
George Clifford (Rev.), Ottawa
Georgina Fitzgerald (Rev.), Ottawa
Gord Dunbar (Rev.), Kincardine
Grant Dillenbeck (Rev.), Stittsville
Grant McNeil (Rev.), Ottawa
Greer Anne Wenh-In Ng (Rev. Dr.), Toronto
Gregory Daly (Rev.), Caledon
Greg Smith-Young (Rev.), Elora
Hannah Lee (Rev.), Toronto
Harry Morgan (Rev.), Haliburton
Heather Davies (Rev.), Neyaashiinigmiing
Heather McCarrel (Rev.), Annan
Heather Leffler (Rev.), Rockwood
Heather McLurg (Rev.), Inverary and Battersea
Heather Power (Rev.), Waterloo
Heather Stevenson, Caledon
Hugh D. Reid (Rev.), Toronto
Jackie Harper (Rev. Dr.), Belleville
Ian Sloan (Rev.), Hamilton
Jack Carbert (Rev.), Orillia
James Lepard (Rev.), Toronto
James Murray (Rev.), Ottawa
James Ravenscroft (Rev.), Richmond Hill
Jane Capstick (Rev.), St Catharines
Jane Howe (Rev.), North Bay
Jane Sullivan (Rev.), Toronto
Jane Van Patter (Rev.), Woodstock
Janet Evans (Rev.), Morrisburg
Janet MacPherson (Rev.), Toronto
Janet Smith Zenwirt (Rev.), Etobicoke
Janet Stobie (Rev.), Peterborough
Janice Frame (Rev.), Silver Water
Jason Meyers, Toronto
Jessica McCrae (Rev.), Toronto
Jean Stairs (Rev. Dr.), Kingston
Jeff Doucette (Rev.), Tyrone
Jenn Hind (Rev.), Waterloo
Jennifer Palin (Rev.), Toronto
Jessica Cottrell (Rev.), Harriston
Jessica Hetherington (Rev. Dr.), Richmond
Jim Sinclair (Rev. Dr.), North Bay
John D. Suk (Rev. Dr.), North York
John Klassen (Rev.), Toronto
John T. Mathew (Rev. Dr.), Mississauga
John Perigoe (Rev.), Toronto
Joseph Ramsay (Rev.), Napanee
Joy Cowan, Toronto
Judith M. Evenden (Rev.), Kingston
Karen Boivin (Rev. Dr.), Ottawa
Karen Dale (Rev.), Toronto
Karen Hammond Croxall (Rev.), Bolsover
Karen Hilfman Millson (Rev.), Orillia
Karen J. Bowles (Rev.), Toronto
Karen Orlandi, Niagara and St. Catharines
Karlene Brown-Palmer (Rev.), Tillsonburg
Karlene Kimber, London
Kate Ballagh-Steeper (Rev.), Goderich
Kate Crawford (Rev. Dr.), Grand Bend
Katherine Brittain (Rev.), Toronto
Kathi Phillips (Rev.), Mississauga
Kathy Douglas, Kitchener
Kellie McComb (Rev.), Waterloo
Kenneth O. Robinson (Rev.), Ottawa
Kevin Logie (Rev.), Parry Sound
Kevin Steeper (Rev.), Goderich
Kieren Williams (Rev. Dr.), Hamilton
Kimberly Heath (Rev.), Brockville
Kim Falls (Rev.), Omemee
Kim Vidal (Rev.), Ottawa
Kirsty Hunter (Rev.), Minesing
Kristin Philipson (Rev.), Toronto
Larry Doyle (Rev. Dr.), Courtice
Lauren Hodgson (Rev.), Toronto
Laurie O’Leary (Rev.), Exeter
Linda M. Butler (Rev.), Richmond Hill
Linda Fuller, Pembroke
Linda Newnham (Rev.), Burk’s Falls
Linda Walker (Rev.), Hamilton
Lois Gaudet (Rev.), Avonmore
Lorrie Daly-Price (Rev.), Markham
Louise Mahood (Rev.), Toronto
Lynn Smith Reeve (Rev.), Peterborough
Lynne Allin (Rev.), Mount Elgin
Lynne Gardiner (Rev.), Delta
Maggie Keates (Rev.), Gravenhurst
Marcie Gibson (Rev.), Arkell
Marg Smith (Rev.), Stratford
Margaret Murray (Rev.), Woodstock
Marilyn Zehr (Rev.), Maynooth
Mark Laird (Rev.), Drayton
Marlene Britton-Walfall (Rev.), Thunder Bay
Mary Dillon, Putnam and Springfield
Mary Elford (Rev.), Richwood
Mary-Margaret Boone (Rev.), Janetville
Mary Royal Duczek (Rev.), Almonte
Matt Gallinger (Rev.), Merrickville and Ottawa
Maya Brathwaite (Rev.), East Gwillimbury
Maya Landell (Rev.), Toronto
Meghan Gilholm, Glen Morris
Meg Jordan (Rev.), Elmvale
Melanie Kirk-Hall (Rev.), Sarnia
Melody Duncanson Hales (Rev.), North Bay
Meriel Simpson (Rev.), Toronto
Michael Blair (Rev.), Toronto
Michael Kooiman (Rev.), Weston
Michael Perreault (Rev.), Ottawa
Michael Shewburg, Paris
Michelle Brotherton (Rev.), Bowmanville
Michelle Robinson (Rev.), Whitby
Michiko Bown-Kai, Toronto
Molly Bell (Rev.), Ottawa
Monica Moore (Rev.), Parry Sound
Nancy Best (Rev.), Orleans
Nancy E. Hardy (Rev. Dr.), Toronto
Norm Seli (Rev.), Toronto
Norman Long (Rev.), Tweed
Oliver Dingwell, Toronto
Patricia James, Stroud
Philip Cable (Rev.), Barrie
Paul Dillman (Rev.), Ottawa
Paul Hutchison (Rev. Dr.), Toronto
Paul Reed (Rev.), Kawartha Lakes
Paul Shepherd (Rev. Dr.), Toronto
Peter Woods (Rev.), Ottawa
Phil Wilson (Rev.), Moscow and Riverside
Ralph Carl Wushke (Rev.), Toronto
Rob Metcalf (Rev.), Toronto
Robert LePage (Rev.), Oshawa
Roberta Howey (Rev.), Toronto
Robin Wardlaw (Rev.), Toronto
Robin McGauley (Rev.), Toronto
Rodney Smith-Merkley (Rev.), Bobcaygeon
Ruth McDonald (Rev.), Barrie
Sandra J. Yule (Rev.), Ottawa
Sarah Chapman (Rev.), Willowdale
Sarah Grady (Rev.), Woodstock
Sarah Miller (Rev.), Toronto
Sharon Ballantyne (Rev. Dr.), Dunsford
Shawn Ankenmann (Rev.), Flesherton
Sheila Macgregor (Rev. Dr.), London
Stephanie Bates (Rev.), Cumberland
Stephanie Richmond, Kawartha Lakes
Stephen Fetter (Rev.), Toronto
Stephen Milton, Toronto
Stephen Willey (Rev.), Bracebridge
Steve Clifton (Rev.), Ottawa
Steven Davis (Rev. Dr.), Ajax
Susan Eagle (Rev.), Barrie
Susan Emily Cole (Rev.), Kitchener
Susan J. Ivany (Rev.), Thunder Bay
Svinda Heinrichs (Rev.), Maynooth
Takouhi Demirdjian-Petro (Rev.), Elgin and Portland
Ted Colwell (Rev.), Ottawa
Ted Grady (Rev.), Sutton
Ted Harrison (Rev. Dr.), North Bay
Teresa Burnett-Cole (Rev.), Ottawa
Thelma Arnott, Barrie
Thérèse Samuel (Rev.), Thornbury
Tina Conlon, Toronto
Thomas Dunbar (Rev.), Mitchell
Tom MacNeil (Rev.), Etobicoke
Trisha Elliott (Rev.), Ottawa
Walter Ridley (Rev.), Blenheim
Wanda Stride (Rev.), Kawartha Lakes
Wanda Winfield (Rev.), Blenheim
Warren Ball (Rev.), Richmond Hill
Warren Vollmer (Rev.), Frankford
Wendy MacLean (Rev.), Lyn
Wendy Noble (Rev.), London
William Thomas (Rev.), Fort Erie
Will Kunder (Rev. Dr.), North Bay

Download a PDF

---

As this letter circulates further into our networks, those who are in paid accountable ministry with the United Church of Canada continue to send in their names :

Andrew Hyde, GuelphFred Monteith (Rev.), WaterlooCindo Peterson, CambridgeDavid White (Rev.), OttawaLynn Hamilton (Rev.), Guelph-Eramosa TownshipDouglas duCharme (Rev.), TorontoMorgan Bell, TorontoCameron Watts (Rev. Dr.), TorontoPhyllis Dietrich (Rev.), Vankleek HillDavid Zub (Rev. Dr.), Sault Ste. MarieDon McLean (Rev.), NorwoodMarilyn Burnard (Rev.), New HamburgSue Cowan, GeorgetownMartha J. Lockwood (Rev.), WellandAbigail J Johnson (Rev. Dr.), TorontoLexie Chamberlain (Rev.), OakvilleLois Wilson (The Very Rev., The Hon.), TorontoBarb Smith-Young, EloraGeorge Rowaan (Rev.), LondonDouglas Norris (Rev.), TorontoKassandra Matthews, Niagara FallsMerle Lynn Watson (Rev.), BancroftWilliam (Bill) Bruce (Rev.), KitchenerRichard Hamilton (Rev.), DeserontoSue Wood, OrilliaPamela Holmes (Dr.), TrentonJoe Gaspar (Rev.), Waterloo
Nancy Lester (Rev.), CobourgBarbara L Fullerton (Rev. Dr.), ParisKeith Reynolds (Rev.), StratfordMicol Cottrell (Rev.), HarristonAlison Miculan, Caistor CentreCathy Hird (Rev.), ChatsworthRienk Vlietstra (Rev.), HanoverKevin Fitzpatrick, Kawartha LakesJohn James (Rev. Dr.), Niagara FallsDavid Steele (Rev.), AthensMalcolm Sinclair (Rev. Dr.), TorontoMichelle Down (Rev.), LondonAndy Crowell (Rev.), HamiltonJohn Lougheed (Rev.), KitchenerS. Derek Shelly (Rev.), HuntsvilleSandra Farrow (Rev.), OshawaSadekie Lyttle-Forbes (Rev.), WindsorGwen Nicol-Macdonald (Rev.), Owen SoundDavid Exley (Rev.), LondonKeith Hagerman (Rev.), CambridgeJenni Leslie (Rev.), OttawaDianne Cardin (Rev.), OttawaBev Buckingham, OttawaDarrow Woods (Rev.), OakvilleAlex Jebson, TorontoSusan McAllister (Rev.), KingstonTiina Cote (Rev.), PembrokeEdith-Ann Shantz (Rev.), TorontoLorna MacQueen (Rev.), DundasJennifer Broomhead (Rev.), BowmanvilleLorraine Newton-Comar (Rev.), AuroraRoni Beharry (Rev.), North BayAndrew Comar (Rev.), North BayEun-Joo Park (Rev.), Sault Ste. MarieCarol Ferguon (Rev.), CarrunaJessica Knoyle, OttawaSheryl Spencer (Rev.), Mount ForestBrenna L Baker (Rev.), MississaugaMyra Garvin (Rev.), PrescottLynda Price (Rev.), KingstonJoan Tuchlinsky (Rev.), KitchenerRoy Nicol-Macdonald (Rev.), Owen SoundJames Haupt (Rev.), MerlinLee D. claus (Rev.), HamiltonEmma Pipes (Rev.), BramptonDaniel Mulema (Rev.), DuttonGeorge Addison (Rev.), VinelandMartha ter Kuile (Rev. Dr.), TorontoJames Malcolm Graham (Rev.), KingstonCarla Van Delen (Rev.), BarrhavenDon Parsons (Rev.), BurlingtonPaul Ivany (Rev.), NorvalMargaret Bain (Rev.), CaledoniaOrville James (Rev. Dr.), BurlingtonJudy MacGillivray (Rev.), KingstonDoreen Mason, WindermereRandy Boyd (Rev. Dr.), Thunder BayLloyd Paul (Rev.), BinbrookGlen Eagle (Rev.), ChurchillGerry Hofstetter (Rev.), SouthamptonGail Clarkson, FordwhichBonnie Holliday (Rev.), Port ElginCaroline Giesbrecht (Rev.), BellevilleKaren Smart (Rev.), AjaxConnie Capes, CorrunaKatherine Selby (Rev.), TorontoSusan Cameron (Rev.), PetroliaNan Hudson (Rev. Dr.), KingstonElizabeth Macdonald (Rev.), KingstonAndrea Wheaton, BarriePeter T Hoyle (Rev.), Elliott LakeEric Bacon (Rev. Dr.), TorontoLaurie McKnight (Rev.), OttawaMurray Rounding (Rev.), AmherstburgKaren Low (Rev.), London

This, not the Irving Chapel, is what Christianity is about.