The man brushed past Dr. Watson who was left holding the door in bewilderment. The man headed straight for the chair where Sherlock Holmes' bow was wandering languidly and aimlessly over the strings of his violin.
"Please help me," Mr. Holmes.
Holmes paused, glanced at his visitor.
"I note", he said, "you are a politician, and probably from the colonies. Tut, tut, sir. Don't look astonished. Your dress and air of importance, conbined with a posture indicating servility to some master are sure marks of either a politician or a head servant in some great house.. But your accent would be quite unacceptable in any great house. And your pronounced servility combined with the copy of The Moncton Times and Transcript in your pocket suggests New Brunswick. Pray, be seated, and tell me your story."
The distraught visitor sank gratefully into a chair opposite Holmes, while the master sat, fingertips touching, his eyes seeming to drill into the very soul of the wretched creature facing him.
"You must know," Mr Holmes, that I am the premier of a small but attractive province in Canada, and one that has produced great wealth. for some."
Holmes waved a hand. "Do not waste time on what I can learn from simple observation. Why are you here?."
"The leading businessman of my province has publicly humiliated me."
"Hear that, Watson," said Holmes. "That is encouraging," he added, turning back to the premier. "If you were a dishonest premier, he would have rewarded you with an ambassadorship to the US or perhaps a senior position in a bank. Obviously, he has found it necessary to discipline you. For your behaviour alone, I am happy to be at your dissposal.
" But do not tell me of just one incident. That is a dreadful habit the press has, making each story meaningless by reporting it in isolation from the events that surround it. To understand any story, we need to see a whole picture, not just a fleck of paint."
"In the case of Haiti, for example, we had the story of a brutal dictatorship sponsored by the US government. Then the story was of the dictato's overthrow. Then of how Haiti was able to establish a democracy, and elect a president. The president announced an intention to build public schools and to improve health care. The US government made it clear is disliked him. A well-armed group of men who had worked for the dictator Invaded the defenceless country.. The US intervened (in the name of the UN and humanitarianism). The intervening UN forces did nothing to the rebels, but toppled and exiled the president. There is now a new prresident (elected while the country is still controlled by various armies). The new president turns out to be an old buddy of the former dictator's family; and the son of the dictator was invited to attend the inauguration of the new president."
This was presented to us by our news media as isolated incidents, rather like a scatering of dots that are meaningless unless someone connects them. Just tell me your dots. Then, we shall attempt to connect them."
The visitor paused, looked down for moment, then sat up manfully. "Very well. I shall begin with an organization called The Atlantic Institute of Market Studies....."
Holmes raised a hand. "Watson, be so good as to fetch our file on the Moriarty web of subversive organizations....pray, continue, Mr. Alward."
(Here, the visitor who was, indeed, Mr. Alward, looked up in astonishment.)
Holmes smiled. "It is no great deduction. Your name and hotel are pasted on the back of your jacket. I saw it as you passed me to sit down. Obviously, you have a history of getting lost and confused. So someone who cares for you has made sure you can always be retrieved and returned."
Mr. Alward smiled, then changed to a puzzled frown. "Now, where was I?"
To be completed May 10.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
May 7:: bin thinkin' 'bout the kids...
Every Saturday, The Moncton Times&Transcript has two pages of commentary on pp. F2 and F3 written by middle school and high school studetns. It is consistently good reading. In particular, it far outshines the editorials and "special" reports of the regular staff for thoughtfulness and tone.
That's not just idel flattery to say something cutesie about the kiddies. They're good. For today's examples, take a look at the columns by Tess Allen or Christina Korotkov - or any other columnist on these two pages. There's a thoughfulness, an honesty, a reognition of human strength and human weakness that I have never seen reflected in the editorials, the commentaries, the "think tank" hacks, or ever by the reporters. The two pages don't try to budgeon you into thinking their way. They actually invite you to think.
By taking part in these pages, the students who write these commentaries are getting a wonderful opportunity to broaden and mature intellectually.
But what about all the other students? Moncton does not offer much in the way of nourishment for the mind or for intellectual stimulation.
The schools can't do enough of it because 1.We don't give them enough money. 2.Our school population, like our general population, doesn't give them much of the stimulation that comes from variety. 3.The spread of school bussing over the past fifty years makes it difficult for teachers to provide after school groups for special interests.
My sons are, as I write this, hugely enjoying and learning from a UN conference in Fredericton. They can do it only because a)interested parents (or those with enough money) paid the cost. And because their teacher gave up a sick day and his whole weekend (including Mother's Day) to take them. (You might try writing a column about that, Norbert, or at least a report that would be as big as the story about how Moncton is all agog over free comics day.)
Can we use this section as a starting point for something that would include more students, give more of them the chance to find out how interesting and challenging the life of the mind can be? To learn that they, too, can speak interesting sentences that don't consist simply of endless exchanges of "holy f...?
It's an opportunity that has special meaning to mme. I grew up in a community in which we had no sense of any possibility of ever being more than the poor, ignorant, and hopeless people we were. Few seriously thought of finishing even high school. My grades, which had been high up to grade 6, soon began their death slide. Then, for grade ten, I attended a school that mixed kids from all over Montreal. Among those who had gone there before me were the very rich Christopher Plummer, and the very poor Oscar Peterson.
One of my best friends (he still is) was a Japanese Canadian boy who had to start school in grade seven because the Canadian government had taken his family's home and possessions, sold them, kept the money, and thrown the family into a concentration camp.
Dr. Yosh Taguchi is now an internationally respected physician.
I also met Jewish boys. Most were as poor as I was. But all had been raised in the stimulationg atmosphere for debate and exercise of the mind that characterized the synagogue. For the first time, I saw theatre and dance and film and novels and ideas as exciting and absorbing things.
Since we travelled to and from school on our own, teachers could offer us after school groups - current events, theater, music...I was president of the writing club. Our Frnech teacher took us to a symphony concert. (Unlike Moncton, our city spent money on more than just aging rock groups.) I also saw professional actors for the first time.
It was too late, of course. I failed grade ten, repeated it, then was kicked out in grade eleven. I managed to work my way back. But it was a long and expensive way.
Surely in Moncton we can do more the minds of our children. After all, this is the city that thinks $84 million a reasonable price for a hockey rink. So why do we have one of the worst-funded public libraries in Canada? Why is there so little intellectual life in this city for anybody - childrfen or adultsz/ Why are the churches so intellectually dead?
Hats off to The Moncton Times&Transcript for a solid start on pp. F2 and F3. But we should all be doing more, much more.
And,, before you get all mushy about the T&T, check out p. D1, News Today. Note the story headed "Harper sheds 'scary' image". It doesn't report anything. This is not a new report. Is is essentially an opinion piece disguised as news. (More accurately, it is not even an opinion piece, but a propaganda drool. Not suprisingly it comes from Postmedia. No respectable paper would allow that to appear iin a news section. The National Post would, though, as would all the Brunswick Media.)
Coming sometime sooon - a mystery story - The riddle of why, after all these years, Irving is making very public moves to show he is the government of New Brunswick.
That's not just idel flattery to say something cutesie about the kiddies. They're good. For today's examples, take a look at the columns by Tess Allen or Christina Korotkov - or any other columnist on these two pages. There's a thoughfulness, an honesty, a reognition of human strength and human weakness that I have never seen reflected in the editorials, the commentaries, the "think tank" hacks, or ever by the reporters. The two pages don't try to budgeon you into thinking their way. They actually invite you to think.
By taking part in these pages, the students who write these commentaries are getting a wonderful opportunity to broaden and mature intellectually.
But what about all the other students? Moncton does not offer much in the way of nourishment for the mind or for intellectual stimulation.
The schools can't do enough of it because 1.We don't give them enough money. 2.Our school population, like our general population, doesn't give them much of the stimulation that comes from variety. 3.The spread of school bussing over the past fifty years makes it difficult for teachers to provide after school groups for special interests.
My sons are, as I write this, hugely enjoying and learning from a UN conference in Fredericton. They can do it only because a)interested parents (or those with enough money) paid the cost. And because their teacher gave up a sick day and his whole weekend (including Mother's Day) to take them. (You might try writing a column about that, Norbert, or at least a report that would be as big as the story about how Moncton is all agog over free comics day.)
Can we use this section as a starting point for something that would include more students, give more of them the chance to find out how interesting and challenging the life of the mind can be? To learn that they, too, can speak interesting sentences that don't consist simply of endless exchanges of "holy f...?
It's an opportunity that has special meaning to mme. I grew up in a community in which we had no sense of any possibility of ever being more than the poor, ignorant, and hopeless people we were. Few seriously thought of finishing even high school. My grades, which had been high up to grade 6, soon began their death slide. Then, for grade ten, I attended a school that mixed kids from all over Montreal. Among those who had gone there before me were the very rich Christopher Plummer, and the very poor Oscar Peterson.
One of my best friends (he still is) was a Japanese Canadian boy who had to start school in grade seven because the Canadian government had taken his family's home and possessions, sold them, kept the money, and thrown the family into a concentration camp.
Dr. Yosh Taguchi is now an internationally respected physician.
I also met Jewish boys. Most were as poor as I was. But all had been raised in the stimulationg atmosphere for debate and exercise of the mind that characterized the synagogue. For the first time, I saw theatre and dance and film and novels and ideas as exciting and absorbing things.
Since we travelled to and from school on our own, teachers could offer us after school groups - current events, theater, music...I was president of the writing club. Our Frnech teacher took us to a symphony concert. (Unlike Moncton, our city spent money on more than just aging rock groups.) I also saw professional actors for the first time.
It was too late, of course. I failed grade ten, repeated it, then was kicked out in grade eleven. I managed to work my way back. But it was a long and expensive way.
Surely in Moncton we can do more the minds of our children. After all, this is the city that thinks $84 million a reasonable price for a hockey rink. So why do we have one of the worst-funded public libraries in Canada? Why is there so little intellectual life in this city for anybody - childrfen or adultsz/ Why are the churches so intellectually dead?
Hats off to The Moncton Times&Transcript for a solid start on pp. F2 and F3. But we should all be doing more, much more.
And,, before you get all mushy about the T&T, check out p. D1, News Today. Note the story headed "Harper sheds 'scary' image". It doesn't report anything. This is not a new report. Is is essentially an opinion piece disguised as news. (More accurately, it is not even an opinion piece, but a propaganda drool. Not suprisingly it comes from Postmedia. No respectable paper would allow that to appear iin a news section. The National Post would, though, as would all the Brunswick Media.)
Coming sometime sooon - a mystery story - The riddle of why, after all these years, Irving is making very public moves to show he is the government of New Brunswick.
Friday, May 6, 2011
May 6: You know it's going to be a slow day when...
....the main, front page story of The Moncton Times and Transcript is a SPECIAL REPORT which is really a free ad and kiss-up for the local casino. The ads are thicker than ever, and the editorials are back to normal idiocy. Ain't nothing there to bother with. So let's take a look at the letters to the editor. They tell you a lot about the paper and the community.
The impression given of the community is pretty good. All the letters were well written, dealt with topics worth writing about, and were generally well-informed. Well, there was one exception.
One of the letters, from a radio station manager, is nothiing more than a free ad for the station, but designed to look like a thank you note. That's not the fault of the station manager. Hey, you see a chance for a free ad - you grab it. But quality newspapers don't publish that sort of thing.
Generally, though, the letters suggest this is a thoughtful and reasonable community.
Though a born arguer, I found that I could disagree on with only one letter, and only with a part of it. That is not to say the writer is wrong - simply to say I disagree. I mention my disagreement only because it has to do with bias we get from our news media.
The letter is headed "Congratulations on bin Laden". It credits the President Obama for the killiing of bin Laden. He commends the men who did it for their skill and bravery. Now, the writer is by no means a bigot or a chauvinist of any kind.. He shows that quite clearly in the last half of his letter. So why does he commend the president for his act of murder, and commend the bravery and skill of the men who carried it out?
The answer to that is in his third line which refers to bin Laden as "the world's number one criminal".
Actually, bin Laden was pretty small stuff as a criminal. He was involved in the killing, according to our newspapers, of thousands of innocent people.
In the history of the world, that's very small stuff. Mao-Tse Tung killed at least fifty million. Chiang Kai-Sheck, who was supported by the US, may have killed even more. The US, in the days of the slave trade, probably killed more than either of them. Then there were Stalin and Hitler. That puts bin Laden pretty low on the scale.
But let's stick to very recent times. Let's consider just killers. Let's consider just those who killed innocent people, and those who happily killed women and children indiscriminately.Let's consider just those who are still alive. Here are the rankings:
1. George Bush 2 and Tony Blair. Some one and a half million, most of them civilians, in Iraq..
2.George Bush 1 - as head of the CIA, he supervised the genocide of 200,000 Mayans in Guatemala.
3.President Obama, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, who has killed unknown thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and who has ordered assassinations to be carried out by "special ops" all over Africa and Latin America. (It's impossible to get even estimates on this because the government doesn't talk, and our news media don't ask.) He also authorizes torture at bases around the world, and torture of American citizens, like the young private involved in the Wikkileaks affair. He also authorizes arrest and indefinite imprisonment of American citizens with no charge and no trial. (We shall skip lightly over Canada which happily turned over Canadians to the US for torture, and whose CSIS collaborates in the torture.)
Why should it indicate bravery and skill if a gang of young, well trained, and heavily armed men attack and murder and elderly man who has no guards and no weapons. (Not a single member of the attack team was even scratched.)
The letter writer is clearly a thoughtful, reasonable and compassionate person. So why would he have such skewed perceptions of bin Laden, the Bushes and Obama?
Hint - he gets his news from The Moncton Times@Transcript and, in fairness. other North American news media.)
The impression given of the community is pretty good. All the letters were well written, dealt with topics worth writing about, and were generally well-informed. Well, there was one exception.
One of the letters, from a radio station manager, is nothiing more than a free ad for the station, but designed to look like a thank you note. That's not the fault of the station manager. Hey, you see a chance for a free ad - you grab it. But quality newspapers don't publish that sort of thing.
Generally, though, the letters suggest this is a thoughtful and reasonable community.
Though a born arguer, I found that I could disagree on with only one letter, and only with a part of it. That is not to say the writer is wrong - simply to say I disagree. I mention my disagreement only because it has to do with bias we get from our news media.
The letter is headed "Congratulations on bin Laden". It credits the President Obama for the killiing of bin Laden. He commends the men who did it for their skill and bravery. Now, the writer is by no means a bigot or a chauvinist of any kind.. He shows that quite clearly in the last half of his letter. So why does he commend the president for his act of murder, and commend the bravery and skill of the men who carried it out?
The answer to that is in his third line which refers to bin Laden as "the world's number one criminal".
Actually, bin Laden was pretty small stuff as a criminal. He was involved in the killing, according to our newspapers, of thousands of innocent people.
In the history of the world, that's very small stuff. Mao-Tse Tung killed at least fifty million. Chiang Kai-Sheck, who was supported by the US, may have killed even more. The US, in the days of the slave trade, probably killed more than either of them. Then there were Stalin and Hitler. That puts bin Laden pretty low on the scale.
But let's stick to very recent times. Let's consider just killers. Let's consider just those who killed innocent people, and those who happily killed women and children indiscriminately.Let's consider just those who are still alive. Here are the rankings:
1. George Bush 2 and Tony Blair. Some one and a half million, most of them civilians, in Iraq..
2.George Bush 1 - as head of the CIA, he supervised the genocide of 200,000 Mayans in Guatemala.
3.President Obama, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, who has killed unknown thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and who has ordered assassinations to be carried out by "special ops" all over Africa and Latin America. (It's impossible to get even estimates on this because the government doesn't talk, and our news media don't ask.) He also authorizes torture at bases around the world, and torture of American citizens, like the young private involved in the Wikkileaks affair. He also authorizes arrest and indefinite imprisonment of American citizens with no charge and no trial. (We shall skip lightly over Canada which happily turned over Canadians to the US for torture, and whose CSIS collaborates in the torture.)
Why should it indicate bravery and skill if a gang of young, well trained, and heavily armed men attack and murder and elderly man who has no guards and no weapons. (Not a single member of the attack team was even scratched.)
The letter writer is clearly a thoughtful, reasonable and compassionate person. So why would he have such skewed perceptions of bin Laden, the Bushes and Obama?
Hint - he gets his news from The Moncton Times@Transcript and, in fairness. other North American news media.)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
May 5: A brief note
There is nothing worth commenting on in today's Moncton Times. Besides I'm rushed off my feet today, and tonight is my painting class. So just a brief comment to think about.
People speak of the danger of World War Three breaking out. In fact, it already has broken out. We have been fighting World War Three for decades.
Occasionally, it's fought with regular troops and even with a declaration of war. But that's old-fashioned.
More often, the troops are not regular. There is no declaration of war. And there is no public debate or democratic vote for it.
The troops are now special ops, which means they normally operate in secrecy, in small groups, with specific targets, without anything resembling legal authority, and without publicity. Some, often mercenaries, are simply hired killers. Other are the so-called psy-ops who torture prisoners and manipulate nations by psychological means - often under the guidance of respected physicians and psychiatrists and psychologists.
The leading countries in the move to war by special ops are Russia, Britain, Israel, Germany and the US. The Russians and Israelis may be the best, followed by the Russians and Germans.. When the USSR first took control of Afghanistan, it did it with only 200 or so special ops people. Then they lost control as US special ops intervened to train and equip people like Osama bin Laden.
When the Russians lost that war, the US blundered into the same trap it had set for the Russians, using regular forces from the start..
Special ops forces arre now fighting all over the world in wars that have never been declared, and are never honestly reported. British and American special forces are in Libya. There were almost certainly there before the revolution. In fact, they almost certainly caused it. One can say the same for most of the rest of Africa and the middle east.
Central and South America are infested with special ops, often using the drug trade, or posing as narcotics police. Israel speical ops have been in Central America, rented out to the US. And there are many similar partnerships.
So many private companies and government agencies are involved, and there is so little reporting, that nobody, even in government, is in general control. Whole countries, espcially in Africa, are in chaos and suffering because of speical ops warfare. Expect the same chaos soon in Central America as the US tries to regain control of it fadiing power in that region. In fact, it has already begun in Guatemala and, probably, in Venezuela.
World War Three is already on, and on over more of the world that World War Two was.
The part of it that mystifies me is the killing of Osama bin Laden. He had become an irrelevant figure except in one respect. He was important to stustain hysteria in the US. He was the bogeyman hauled out to justify old fashioned wars that were really pure aggression for profit - like Iraq. He was the one who so terrified Americans that clowns like Sarah Palin and Donald Trump became popular leaders.
US governments needed bin Laden. So why did they kill him? By doing so, they have created an international hero and myth, one that works against them.
My guess? Obama has an election coming up. He needs to, as Ronald Reagan said when he sent a giant aricraft carrier and thousands of soldiers to invade a tiny resort island with a tiny army that was only part time, and less than half trained, and with no navy or air force. (The onlystumbling block was that as the troops were landed, they realized that nobody had thought to give them maps.) I ramble but, as Ronnie said, "American has to walk tall."
To do that, Obama has to show that, like Bush, he is ready to order the klling of anybody - (just so long as he, like George), never has to serve in action Yessir. John Wayne Obama is standin' tall doin' whut a man's gotta do. For the cameras.
And we are in World War Three.
People speak of the danger of World War Three breaking out. In fact, it already has broken out. We have been fighting World War Three for decades.
Occasionally, it's fought with regular troops and even with a declaration of war. But that's old-fashioned.
More often, the troops are not regular. There is no declaration of war. And there is no public debate or democratic vote for it.
The troops are now special ops, which means they normally operate in secrecy, in small groups, with specific targets, without anything resembling legal authority, and without publicity. Some, often mercenaries, are simply hired killers. Other are the so-called psy-ops who torture prisoners and manipulate nations by psychological means - often under the guidance of respected physicians and psychiatrists and psychologists.
The leading countries in the move to war by special ops are Russia, Britain, Israel, Germany and the US. The Russians and Israelis may be the best, followed by the Russians and Germans.. When the USSR first took control of Afghanistan, it did it with only 200 or so special ops people. Then they lost control as US special ops intervened to train and equip people like Osama bin Laden.
When the Russians lost that war, the US blundered into the same trap it had set for the Russians, using regular forces from the start..
Special ops forces arre now fighting all over the world in wars that have never been declared, and are never honestly reported. British and American special forces are in Libya. There were almost certainly there before the revolution. In fact, they almost certainly caused it. One can say the same for most of the rest of Africa and the middle east.
Central and South America are infested with special ops, often using the drug trade, or posing as narcotics police. Israel speical ops have been in Central America, rented out to the US. And there are many similar partnerships.
So many private companies and government agencies are involved, and there is so little reporting, that nobody, even in government, is in general control. Whole countries, espcially in Africa, are in chaos and suffering because of speical ops warfare. Expect the same chaos soon in Central America as the US tries to regain control of it fadiing power in that region. In fact, it has already begun in Guatemala and, probably, in Venezuela.
World War Three is already on, and on over more of the world that World War Two was.
The part of it that mystifies me is the killing of Osama bin Laden. He had become an irrelevant figure except in one respect. He was important to stustain hysteria in the US. He was the bogeyman hauled out to justify old fashioned wars that were really pure aggression for profit - like Iraq. He was the one who so terrified Americans that clowns like Sarah Palin and Donald Trump became popular leaders.
US governments needed bin Laden. So why did they kill him? By doing so, they have created an international hero and myth, one that works against them.
My guess? Obama has an election coming up. He needs to, as Ronald Reagan said when he sent a giant aricraft carrier and thousands of soldiers to invade a tiny resort island with a tiny army that was only part time, and less than half trained, and with no navy or air force. (The onlystumbling block was that as the troops were landed, they realized that nobody had thought to give them maps.) I ramble but, as Ronnie said, "American has to walk tall."
To do that, Obama has to show that, like Bush, he is ready to order the klling of anybody - (just so long as he, like George), never has to serve in action Yessir. John Wayne Obama is standin' tall doin' whut a man's gotta do. For the cameras.
And we are in World War Three.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
May 4:Moncton and Ancient Rome
Two years ago, I stood in the pit of the great colloseum in Rome. This is where so many people were dragged to be publicly humiliated, tortured, murdered and/or eaten alive for the delight of a howling mob. The mob was poor, hungry, jobless (since the bread, which was almost all the food they were given, came from the Empire.) They didn't even have to serve the Empire in the military. Mercenaries from various tribes did that.The Roman mob was useless, and every one of those miserable wretches knew it. That is why so many of them loved to see other people humiliated, to be even worse off than they were. The Roman mob was something like the audience for the Jerry Springer show.
They were useless; but they had to be kept quiet, ignorant and entertained. Otherwise, their thoughts would turn to wondering why they were so poor while the Caesar and the nobility were so rich. That might have led the mob to a violence that would threaten the Imperial Palace, itself.
Better to divert them with entertainment. That's why the emperors and the nobility happily paid for the gladiators and the wild animals for the shows in the Colissseum. That's why , as I stood there trying to hear the howls of the mob and the screams of the dying, I thought of The Moncton Times&Transcript. It is the only daily permitted in Moncton. (The weekly Snap, though non-Irving, is permitted only because there is no danger of anybody reading it and learning anything.)
Today's T&T is three quarters advertising. Of the rest, most is trivia. The editorial is the usual trash - highly partisan and showing a complete lack of ignorance of the fundamentals of democracy. Nowhere is there any discussion, for example, of the fact that our provincial budget has been handed over by our government to a big business committee.
Nor is there the slightest understanding that the recent election has to be understood as a serious warning. When a democracy can form a government with the consent of only 24% of the general population, then that dmocracy is close to the end of its life. That is not the fault of Stephen Harper or the Conservatives. It's not even the fault of the system. It's because a full 40% of the population has so little faith in democracy, or so little information that they don't give a damn. For that matter, a high proportion of those who did vote had no idea of what the issues were or what the parties stood for. No democracy is going to survive that. That's why the turnout was the most important lesson of that election.
In this province, democracy has ended by any definition I know of. The basic requirement of democracy is that a government elected by the people should have the "power of the purse". That means the right to plan spending and taxation wince these two affect almost everything else. But economic planning in New Brunswick has been handed over to a self-appointed gang of corporate bosses. For all the speeches and elections, New Burnswick provincial politcs are no longer democratic. We are into a form of government called corporatism. And corporatism was the foundation stone of fascism.
For the lack of honest and full information, our news media, led by the Irving papers, are the prime cause of our breakdown as a democracy.
The only section of the T&T that is competent and more or less honest is the sports section. Of course. If this were ancient Rome, the Colosseum sports section would be the best part. It's entertainment and it's trivia. That makes it safe.
Not surprisingly, our Caesar and his nobles are encouraging us to build a new Colosseum as Moncton's outstanding priority. Keep people uninformed. Keep them entertained. Keep them trivial. That's the role of the Moncton Times &Tribune. It works as well for the new caesars as it did for the old ones.
They were useless; but they had to be kept quiet, ignorant and entertained. Otherwise, their thoughts would turn to wondering why they were so poor while the Caesar and the nobility were so rich. That might have led the mob to a violence that would threaten the Imperial Palace, itself.
Better to divert them with entertainment. That's why the emperors and the nobility happily paid for the gladiators and the wild animals for the shows in the Colissseum. That's why , as I stood there trying to hear the howls of the mob and the screams of the dying, I thought of The Moncton Times&Transcript. It is the only daily permitted in Moncton. (The weekly Snap, though non-Irving, is permitted only because there is no danger of anybody reading it and learning anything.)
Today's T&T is three quarters advertising. Of the rest, most is trivia. The editorial is the usual trash - highly partisan and showing a complete lack of ignorance of the fundamentals of democracy. Nowhere is there any discussion, for example, of the fact that our provincial budget has been handed over by our government to a big business committee.
Nor is there the slightest understanding that the recent election has to be understood as a serious warning. When a democracy can form a government with the consent of only 24% of the general population, then that dmocracy is close to the end of its life. That is not the fault of Stephen Harper or the Conservatives. It's not even the fault of the system. It's because a full 40% of the population has so little faith in democracy, or so little information that they don't give a damn. For that matter, a high proportion of those who did vote had no idea of what the issues were or what the parties stood for. No democracy is going to survive that. That's why the turnout was the most important lesson of that election.
In this province, democracy has ended by any definition I know of. The basic requirement of democracy is that a government elected by the people should have the "power of the purse". That means the right to plan spending and taxation wince these two affect almost everything else. But economic planning in New Brunswick has been handed over to a self-appointed gang of corporate bosses. For all the speeches and elections, New Burnswick provincial politcs are no longer democratic. We are into a form of government called corporatism. And corporatism was the foundation stone of fascism.
For the lack of honest and full information, our news media, led by the Irving papers, are the prime cause of our breakdown as a democracy.
The only section of the T&T that is competent and more or less honest is the sports section. Of course. If this were ancient Rome, the Colosseum sports section would be the best part. It's entertainment and it's trivia. That makes it safe.
Not surprisingly, our Caesar and his nobles are encouraging us to build a new Colosseum as Moncton's outstanding priority. Keep people uninformed. Keep them entertained. Keep them trivial. That's the role of the Moncton Times &Tribune. It works as well for the new caesars as it did for the old ones.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
My 3: 24% of all eligible Canadians voted for Harper.
That should have been the headline on today's Moncton Times and Transcript because that's really what happened. Even in the low the turnout, he still got only 40%. It was the low turnout that gave him a victory with just 24% of all eligible voters casting their ballot for him.
That's not only a bad sign in a democracy. It's a danger signal. Bush won with 23%, and look what he did.
If you check back about a week, you will find me mentioning that I suspected The Moncton Times and Tribune was giving the election terrible coverage - and Norbert Cunningham writing an inane comment on the boredom of it all - and was doing it deliberately. They wanted a low turnout, figuring that would help the Conservatives. I suspect now that was the Conservative strategy across Canada.
So only 61% of Canadian voted in what may well prove to be the most crucial election in Canada's history. And we shall all be led by an ideologue with supreme power who has the support of only 24% of all the voters of Canada. But the headline of the editorial?
"Canadians have spoken decisively.
In further assininity, it says "A return to majority government is welcome and judged to be best by Canadian voters." In fact, it was not welcome or judged to be best by 76% of eligible voters.
The writer also says it's a polarization of right and left. Oh? It looks more like a polarization between those who vote and those who no longer give a damn.
"PM Stephen Harper's election win is convincing and the pettiness should now stop." Really. What pettiness are you referring to? The pettiness of contempt of parliament? The pettiness of undiclosed billions for a fighter plane?
I wonder whether Norbert is aware that the purpose of an opposition in a democracy is to criticize the government. And, surely, an opposition that got more votes than the government has both a reponsibility and a right to do that.
We voted in an election in which 24% was enough to put in a government. I'm ashamed to be a Canadian.
Of those in Moncton who did vote, it's a safe bet that most had no idea what the various party platforms were. How could they? Their newspaper never reported them. Now that newspaper gloats over its lack of ethics and professionalism with an editorial that amounts to either ignorance or lies. I put my money on lies.
Collectors of lies will also be interested in a comment below the editorial. It's about shale gas, and it was written by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
That's not only a bad sign in a democracy. It's a danger signal. Bush won with 23%, and look what he did.
If you check back about a week, you will find me mentioning that I suspected The Moncton Times and Tribune was giving the election terrible coverage - and Norbert Cunningham writing an inane comment on the boredom of it all - and was doing it deliberately. They wanted a low turnout, figuring that would help the Conservatives. I suspect now that was the Conservative strategy across Canada.
So only 61% of Canadian voted in what may well prove to be the most crucial election in Canada's history. And we shall all be led by an ideologue with supreme power who has the support of only 24% of all the voters of Canada. But the headline of the editorial?
"Canadians have spoken decisively.
In further assininity, it says "A return to majority government is welcome and judged to be best by Canadian voters." In fact, it was not welcome or judged to be best by 76% of eligible voters.
The writer also says it's a polarization of right and left. Oh? It looks more like a polarization between those who vote and those who no longer give a damn.
"PM Stephen Harper's election win is convincing and the pettiness should now stop." Really. What pettiness are you referring to? The pettiness of contempt of parliament? The pettiness of undiclosed billions for a fighter plane?
I wonder whether Norbert is aware that the purpose of an opposition in a democracy is to criticize the government. And, surely, an opposition that got more votes than the government has both a reponsibility and a right to do that.
We voted in an election in which 24% was enough to put in a government. I'm ashamed to be a Canadian.
Of those in Moncton who did vote, it's a safe bet that most had no idea what the various party platforms were. How could they? Their newspaper never reported them. Now that newspaper gloats over its lack of ethics and professionalism with an editorial that amounts to either ignorance or lies. I put my money on lies.
Collectors of lies will also be interested in a comment below the editorial. It's about shale gas, and it was written by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Monday, May 2, 2011
May2: Nothing terribly bad in The Moncton Times. Just trivial and boring.
By the standards of the Moncton Times and Tribune, this was a brilliant day.
Curiously, the killing of Osama Bin Laden did not make either the first page or the News section It appeared on A2, under a bigger story that Moncton voters would cast their ballots today.
That's really quite a sensible decision. Obama Bin Laden has not been a factor is causing wars for over a decade - and perhaps not even back then. He became irrelevant with the invasion of Iraq. For the years before that, the US has shown no evidence he had anything to do with 9/11 - much less being the "mastermind". He claimed credit, of course. But that's not much in the way of evidence. The Taliban tried hard to get the US to offer some evidence so they could have reason to extradite him to the US. (They weren't looking for another war after a generation of fighting the Soviets.) The US refused to do so, though it is normal practice (except for Canada which happily delivers its citizens for torture, and even helps out with it, on the basis of no evidence at all.)
However, you should read the story as an example of subtle propaganda.
Bin Laden is referred to as a terrorist who killed thousands of men, women, and children. That's probably quite true but....
Henry Kissinger was a terrorist who advised terror bombing of Cambodia that killed half a million men, women and children.
George Bush 1 was head of the CIA when it conducted a terror campaign against Gutemalan native peoples that killed 200,000 men, women and children.
Lyndon Johnson and others killed uncounted millions of innocent people in Vietnam, men, women and children.
George Bush 2 killed innocent people - somewhere over a million and a half.That, too, was deliberate terror - and it was men, women and children.
When Lyndon Johnson died, The Moncton Times did not mention he was a terrorist. Nor will they when Henry Kissinger and George Bush 1 and 2 depart this world. Not even though Bin Laden, compared to them, was a small timer.
Curiously, the killing of Osama Bin Laden did not make either the first page or the News section It appeared on A2, under a bigger story that Moncton voters would cast their ballots today.
That's really quite a sensible decision. Obama Bin Laden has not been a factor is causing wars for over a decade - and perhaps not even back then. He became irrelevant with the invasion of Iraq. For the years before that, the US has shown no evidence he had anything to do with 9/11 - much less being the "mastermind". He claimed credit, of course. But that's not much in the way of evidence. The Taliban tried hard to get the US to offer some evidence so they could have reason to extradite him to the US. (They weren't looking for another war after a generation of fighting the Soviets.) The US refused to do so, though it is normal practice (except for Canada which happily delivers its citizens for torture, and even helps out with it, on the basis of no evidence at all.)
However, you should read the story as an example of subtle propaganda.
Bin Laden is referred to as a terrorist who killed thousands of men, women, and children. That's probably quite true but....
Henry Kissinger was a terrorist who advised terror bombing of Cambodia that killed half a million men, women and children.
George Bush 1 was head of the CIA when it conducted a terror campaign against Gutemalan native peoples that killed 200,000 men, women and children.
Lyndon Johnson and others killed uncounted millions of innocent people in Vietnam, men, women and children.
George Bush 2 killed innocent people - somewhere over a million and a half.That, too, was deliberate terror - and it was men, women and children.
When Lyndon Johnson died, The Moncton Times did not mention he was a terrorist. Nor will they when Henry Kissinger and George Bush 1 and 2 depart this world. Not even though Bin Laden, compared to them, was a small timer.
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