Sept. 19: Ain't never seen nuthin' like it - not since Dr. Goebbels was Hitler's news chief...

First, I'm sorry that my computer is ignoring my paragraph structure, creating long strings of sentences. I'll try to correct it with more spacing.



The big headline on p. 1 is stunning. "Lapierre hounded from jobs". Hounded. The implication is clear. He was treated brutally, unfairly, maliciously chased from his good work. Hounding is the work of the vicious, the hateful, the cowardly.



This is the story as told by Brent Mazerolle and Shawn Berry. I don't know what school trained those two in journalism; but I'll sure as hell bet it isn't bragging about them. This isn't just biased writing. This is deliberate, shameless lying propaganda. It is beneath contempt for any journalist to write this as news, and beneath contempt for any editor to permit it.



A news story is supposed to tell the news - what happened. The news is that Prof. Lapierre resigned his positions, including our chief officer for regulation of the shale gas industry. He resigned because he had lied about his qualifications. He did not have a PhD in ecology. His PhD was in education, in the teaching of ecology. That is really quite different, rather like claiming a degree in automotive engineering when really having one in teaching people how to drive.



Indeed, I am astonished that the government and the shale gas industry (and Brunswick News) never thought to examine Prof. Lapierre's qualifications (or lack of them) when they used him to discredit Dr. Crealy (who does have a doctorate in medicine), and to put him in charge of a project affecting the health and even the lives of everyone in this province.



Professor Lapierre made statements it was clear, even at the time, he was not qualified to make. He then took on a job he was unqualified to do, and did it knowing he was unqualified and that hundreds of thousands might suffer as a result. And he has done that sort of thing regularly throughout his career.  That's the news story.



Nobody hounded him. CBC did what a news agency is supposed to do. It told the facts. Brunswick News lied by omission. It was clear days ago that Prof. Lapierre had lied about his qualifications. It was important that the public should know that. The CBC told the truth. Brunswick News tried to cover up.



That's why Harper and the corporation bosses of this country would love to kill CBC so that we will have to rely entirely on liars and propagandists like Brunswick News. And on hired stooges like Brent Mazerolle and Shawn Berry.



As presented, this story is not news. It's opinion. It's lying opinion. But it is opinion. That's not supposed to be presented as news. It's supposed to be labelled opinion.



Here, we have a piece full of loaded language. He was "hounded". What hounding? What are they talking about? (Don't tell the police if you see those criminals on the run from Halifax. Brent and Shawn will saying you're hounding them.)



In a long and wordy report of what Prof. Lapierre's real qualifications are, the story manages to give the impression that degrees in education are pretty much the same as degrees in science. The story goes on to heap praise on him for filling so many positions that he was quite unqualified to fill. The obvious question now is who chose him to fill those positions - and why. The story doesn't raise these questions.



There are crocodile tears that this will tarnish his reputation. Well, yes. And so it should. His misrepresentation has put lives at risk. Would the TandT weep at news that a bank robber had been discovered?



He was, we are assured, a distinguished teacher. Bullshit. Universities know nothing about education, and are incapable of telling between a distinguished teacher and a pigeon. And what qualifications, I wonder, do Mazerolle and Berry have to pronounce on the skills of a teacher?



And what the hell does that have to do with anything in this case? He lied about his qualifications. If he was the greatest teacher in the world, if he could dance a tango on his knees, he still lied about his qualifications. Worse, nobody in the university or the government or the business world or private news media had the wit or integrity to do a simple check of his qualifications.



The tragedy is that our health and safety were placed in the hands of a man who lied about his qualifications and who, in fact, was used to discredit the reputation of a woman who did know what she was talking about. Dr. Cleary tried to save lives. Prof. Lapierre was willing to risk them in order to please the bosses.



The story closes with a note that those awful anti-shale gas people will probably use this. I expect they will, and with eminently good reason - just as the shale gas companies and the government used Prof. Lapierre to discredit the reputation of our chief medical officer. if anything, Btunswick News now owes her an apology.



Oh, yeah. Mazerolle and Berry note that he was "forthright" in admitting he had "misrepresented" himself. Forthright? That's a nice word. So is 'misrepresented". That's what's called loaded language.



What a miserable, lying rag this is. I plan to send copies of this "news story" to friends who are journalists or who teach journalism. It's a prime example of the newspaper world of "presstitution".
_________________________


The editorial is another kiss-up for Alward and Mckenna. There can be no doubt about it. Mr. Irving has decided that Alward is his boy. I don't know why. I've seen no evidence that Gallant is any different from the usual run of Conservative and Liberal leaders..

_________________________

Norbert continues his vague and frequently silly and always pretentious list for his platform of 2014. The only part worth reading is "The last word". It's a quotation from Bertrand Russell. "The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation."



Quite possibly true. But isn't Norbert aware that the Irving version of capitalism is based on competition - the opposite of cooperation?  Doesn't Norbert read his own columns in favour of competition?



Rod Allen breaks with tradition to try to write something intelligent and useful. Alas! He fails.



As usual, Alec Bruce and Jody Dallaire are the class acts, the only class acts, in the whole paper.

Sept. 18: Park or Ride to CFL game.

That's the big news, front page story for today. Boy, I'll bet no other city in the world can offer that that service. And, at that, it's a modest claim. If you're going to an NFL game in Moncton, you can also walk, run, ride a bicycle, hop on a pogo stick, crawl, or lie down in the bicycle lane and roll to the game. Only in Moncton. I have no idea why some genius of an editor thought that this was not only a story, but the big story of the day. Nor do I understand how one can park TO a game. I have often driven TO a game, then parked AT it. Parking TO a game must be one of the things you can do only in Moncton. However, in a major break with tradition, there is also a real news story on page 1. A group of residents of Mpncton, Dieppe and Riverview have organized public discussion of how to make metro a region of mass trsnsportation by 2040. That's certainly an intelligent and responsible move - and necessary. It's too bad we're not seeing any similar intelligent and responsible and necessary move from our governments at any level. In cities like Hong Kong and Rome and London and New York, only a fool would drive a car, given the convenient, fast and cheap mass transportation available. (Alas! These cities still have large fool populations.) But by 2004, there is likely to be no choice but mass transportation for any city. And I have seen precious little government planning for that day. So, it's congratulations to the hundred residents who are showing more brains and foresight than any of our elected officials. The only other story in Section A that (might) be worth reading is yet another on the Oland killing. By contrast, here is still no mention of all those killed at Lac Megantic. There is no mention of the connection of Irving Oil to those killings. Nor has any reporter or editor at Brunswick News had the wit or integritay to ask whether such volatile cargo is still being sent to St. John. Whoever killed Mr. Oland is not likely to kill again. But the who or what caused a mass killing in Lac Megantic is quite another matter. That's news we need, even more than we need the news we can either park or ride to the NFL game. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Newstoday has six pages of ads, two of news. Most of the news is trivial. Only one is worth reading. "N.B. to privatize non-clinical services management". (This refers to cleaners,and other maintenance workers.) The explanation for it is that this will introduce "new technologies and innovative management practices." The result is to be savings in costs. And the technical term to describe all of the above is "bafflegab". New technolocgies and business practices are not secrets. They are readily available to anybody who wants to know them. And they are usually designed to benefit the bueiness, not the consumer. And the business of the business is to make money, nothing else. Related to that, business has to be paid enough not only to cover the cost - but to produce a profit. So what we are almost certain to get out of this deal is poorer service at greater cost. Contracting to private business also quite commonly introduces corruption into the system. That's why US defence budgets are so high. (And Canada is not innocent in this area.) Result - privatization of non-clinical services in our health system will almost certainly cost more, not less. So why is the government doing this? The answer is obvious. We have a government(and an opposition) run by Mr. Irving. Mr. Irving wants privataization of everything so that he and his friends can control everything, and make money out of everything. Privatization of non-clinical services in health is much like Mr. Irving's "generosity" in interfering in education. It's the thin edge of the wedge to an ever-widening privatization of health care so that the Irvings of this world can get richer while the rest of us get sicker. There is no evidence that privatization will save us a cent. There is no evidence that the present system is inefficient. This whole game is simply greed at work. And damn the public interest. Oh - and the story uses the usual propaganda words. This will be a "partnership" between business and government. But... In a democracy, business has no business being a partner of government. I am not a partner of government. You are not a partner of government. We are subjects of government, all of us, and that includes Mr.Irving. Our national anthem is O Canada, not O Canada and Irving Oil. To say that business is in a "partnership" with government is a (very arrogant) claim that business is an equal to government. In a democracy, that cannot be. In New Brunswick, it is true that business has assumed not only equality with government but superiority to it. And once we accept that, we had all better start learning to click our heels, and shout "Sieg Heil." Watch for that word "partnership". This is a word that often appears in business releases and in Brunswick News. I suspect it is used quite deliberately to make us think of such a relationship as natural and normal. It isn't. It's the first, big step from democracy to fascism. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Today has another kiss-kiss editorial for Alward, which suggests Mr. Irving has decided who he will vote for. An important column by Alec Bruce gives some hint of how governments and big business are in collusion in the takeover of universities and of scientific research in Canada. in both business administration and science, the idea of producing thinkers and truth-seekers is out the window. Instead, they produce trained seals. (I've also seen it in economics and political science.) The op ed page is lining for your box of kitty litter. But intelligent cats might be offended. Norbert's dreary platform-making goes on, In the fifth column of this one, he says the magic words "partnerships" and "PPP" (public private partnerships). Sieg Heil. Grants and favours to business will cease. Good idea. Glad to hear it. So how come Norbert has never written once about such grants and favours to Irving? And Ddes that mean tax breaks to the rich will be ended? Norbert is silent on this point. But they probably won't be ended. Instead, "We'll invite our corporate elite and wealthiest citizens (who already contribute generously in giving back) to join in a new effort to spur development." Our rich already contribute generously by giving back? You mean like Mr. Irving contributed so generously to education? Great idea, Norbert. Tell you what. You let me pay close to zero taxes, and I'll contribute voluntarily back. And we can have a banquet honouring me and naming me citizen of the year with Frank McKenna as the speaker, and I'll give a little talk about how I am humbled. Norbert - why not tax that "elite" properly in the first place? I'm sure that would raise a lot more than their "generous donations"; and then we'd have the money we need to run this province without all the slobbering thank you banquets, and thank you speeches by ex-politicians who have learned how to make the system work for them. In general, Norbert assures us he is going to do good things. Ever read a platrform that promised to do bad ones? In general, he has no idea what he's talking about. And he has one sentence that is hopelessly beyond understanding. It is firm. It is a good thing. It is said with all the air of certainty that Norbert always carries. It's just that it makes no sense. "Public safety will be an equally high priority. 'Nice to have' takes a back seat to 'necessary'." What is the possible connection between those two sentences? Is something that is "nice to have" dangerous? Is something that is "necessary" by definition safe? So far, Norbert has produced a platform that suggests no foundation in any ethical or moral code I have ever heard of. (Talk about "empty platitudes".) Most of his promises are so vague that he is simply saying he will do 'good' things, which is what every platform promises. Worse, he shows a complete ignorance of any principle of economics or government. Still worse, he repeats the jargon of "partnerships" that not only allows the rich and big business to interfere in government, but also propagandizes a respect for fascism. Norbert, you are NOT a partner of government. I am NOT a partner of government. Mr. Irving is Not a partner of government. We all have the same right ot vote. But we are ALL subjects, not partners. Norbert - go back to your harmless little stories about how you read a good book. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Words to Inspire (under Bulletin Board on the op ed page) quotes a paassage from Matthew that every word in (The Bible) must happen. I'm glad to hear it. Why don't we begin with public stoning of disobedient children. We could hold it at Highfield Square, and charge admission, attracting tens of thousands to the hub city and reviving business on Main St. You will find this authorized in Deuteronomy 22:18-21. The stoning, incidentally must be done only by men. Indeed, it might be necessary to refuse admission to women for the word tells us that women must stay in submission - 1 Corinthians 14: 34. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sept. 16: "Alward confident in last year of mandate"

Who could possibly bloody care? This isn't news. This isn't news of any sort And It's miles from being a headline story. Apparently, Alward said this to the editorial board of the TandT. Wow! What a brave man to face those penetrating minds! (There is no indication that the editorial board asked him any questions, or expressed any doubt of anything he said. He must as well have been interviewed by a tape recorder. This "readallaboutit" headline is really just a "feel-good" propaganda piece for Conservatives. So it's written, of course, by Brent Mazerolle. It does tell us one thing, though. Mr. Irving approves of of Mr. Alward. He finds the premier a good stooge. But not to worry. There is no reason to doubt that the Liberal leader would be just as good a stooge. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In NewsToday, Harper reminds Canadians that his party is on the side of good. This time, he is showing it by saying it is bad to be a sex offender - and he has an "action plan". Under his government, sex offenders will have to notify authoritiees if they plan to go abroad. There's also a letter from Conservative MP Robert Gogoo in Letters to the Editor enlarging on the action plan - and I'm sure Mr. Gogoo wrote it all by himself. Way to deal with the big issues of the day, Stevie baby. All the other parties support sex offenders. But not our Stevie. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The UN has released a report that sarin gas was used in Syria. Well, we already knew that; so the US had to add that this was conclusive proof the the Syrian government had used it. Britain and France, as expected, agree with the US. But there are three catches to to their view: 1. The UN report says it is not known which side used it. 2. It is known that both sides have it. 3. Though the gas was fired at a rebel-held area, there is no evidence that any rebel fighters were killed - just civilians. Gee! How can that have happened? The weeks of coverage of this story in the TandT have been largely wasted because it has not occured to anybody at Brunswick News (or most other papers) to ask some obvious questions. What is a weapon of mass destruction? Why are poison gas and other chremical weapons in that category? Why does international law ban them? If they're banned, why have so many countries, including Britain, France, the US, Israel (and Canada) continued the development (and use) of them? The research would take less than a half hour - and we'd begin to get some understanding of the news. Poison gas was first used in World War One. It had some effect in it's first, surprise use; but it soon became much less effective as each side developed countermeasures. After the war, it was occasionally used against civilians. (Churchill ordered the use of it against Kurd villages about 1920. Most countries agreed between the wars to ban poison gas because it killed men, women, children, civilians indiscriminately. Then, and in following years, they banned other chemical and biological weapons - for the same reason. The ban against gas was an easy one, a display of moral concern that cost nothing because poison gas had worn out its usefulness as a decisive weapon. In our time, such weapons, illegal for their indiscriminate killing, are referred to as WMD's - a term invented as part of the excuse to invade Iraq. (In fact, the sarin gas that Itaq had was given to it by the US to be used against Iran. Iraq disposed of it; but got invaded anyway.) In fact, devlopment and and stockpiling of these indiscriminate killers called WMDs continued despite all the self-righteus declarations that they were too terrible to use. And they were and are used to this day - by countries like Britain and France and the US - and Canada. Until recently, at least, Canada has had one of the world most advanced research centres in such weapons, usually working in close cooperation with US scientists. On at least one occasion, Canada used phosphorus shells in Afghanistan. Israel used phosphorous against Palestinian civilians. The US tested Agent Orange right here in the area around Camp Gagetown. It then used it in massive quantities against civilians in Vietnam. It supplied Sarin to both Saddamn of Iraq and Ghadaffi of Libya. The greatest mass killing in one raid happened in 1944 when the US killed some 200,000 people, almost all civilians, with a fire-bombing raid over Tokyo. As well, those two, nuclear bombs were kind of indiscriminate mass killers. So are drones which the US now widely uses. So is depleted uranium which the US used in Iraq. So why is sarin gas a "red line" in Syria? And why is our own Mr. Baird so selectively outraged at its use? Because Britain and France, and powerful people in the US, want an excuse to intervene in the Syrian war on the side of the "rebels". Israel has mixed feelings. It would dearly love to see the Syrian government overthrown. But the prospect of a win by rebels closely attached to Al Quaeda is not an attractive one to Israel. But Putin has so far outflanked them all. And why is Baird outraged? I suppose he likes to think that world powers give a damn what he thinks. If he thinks. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ P.D2 has a brilliant coverage of Tantramar Senior's College registration. Pay close attention to columns two and three which deal with courses offered for Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview. The last one, "Understanding the News", is on Thursdays from 1 to 3, for six weeks beginning Oct. 10 at NBCC. (I am too modest to say who the instructor is). Registration is on Sept. 25, noon to 1:30, at NBCC. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Today's editorial is about yesterday's fluffy story on a fluffy speech by Frank McKenna. I have no idea why what was worth an editorial. The first column by Norbert on his politial platorm for 1914 is dominated by his key suggestion - to sell more booze to New Brunswickers. Yep. If there's one problem that curses this province is its severe shortage of drunks. He would also eliminate the safety inspections for cars. Good move. We don't have nearly enough dangerous cars on the road. He would review all programmes, services, etc.; and make them more effective. Way to lay it on the line Norbie. All the other parties are saying we should review alll programmes, etc. to make them ineffective. He will keep corporation taxes low to attract investment. (Norbert, we have low corporation taxes. The US has even lower ones. So how come we aren't runing around with investment proposals coming out of our ears?) Norbert also believes in progressive taxes. Norbert - are you sure you know what that means? Prograssive taxation is a system that raises the percentage of tax to be paid as income rises. In other words, it means raising the taxes of the rich (including corporations) and lowering taxes of the poor. But that goes against your policy of keeping low taxes for the super-rich. And, in Norbert's government, MLAs would be expected to participate. Wow! What a breakthrough in political thought! ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ By the way, CBC has the story on Irving Oil being questioned about submitting a false statement of the nature of the cargo that hit Lac Megantic. Such statements (but truthful) are required by law because communities on the route need to know what kinds of problems are likely to be encountered so they have the equipment at hand to deal with them. Lac Magentic, according to the information it received, had no inkling of the possibility of a massive fire because Irving Oil misreported the volatility of its cargo. That's yesterday's news. But Brunswick Press still doesn't have it. The TandT made fun of the railway president when he gave a late visit to Lac Megantic and offered a (sort of) apology.) Irving hasn't visited. He hasn't offered any sort of apology. Abd 47 people are dead. And the TandT hasn't said a word. That's quite a depth of moral and ethical betrayal. So, for the time, we shall have to be satisfied with the "The Last Word" at the end of Norbert's column. "A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody." So you understand these quotation you put at the end of your column, Norbert? Would it help if I were to draw you a picture?

Sept. 16: Almost half of section A is ads...

...and that's the only half worth reading. Page one features a hap, hap, happy speech by Frank McKenna on how great everything in the world is. It is reported by the TandT's specialist in reporting on silly speeches, Brent Mazerolle. McKenna says Canada is the happiest country in the world. Oh? And how does he know this? In fact, there are many professional studies of how happy countries are. Canada does well in them. But I have never seen one which rated Canada the happiest. The whole speech seems to have been empty blather. But Mazerolle raises not a single question. It was a feel-good speech by a man accustomed to giving feel-good speeches. As a feel-good speech, it meant nothing whatever. But it was front page stuff for the TandT. The front page also has a piece of mythology, again reported on by Brent Mazerolle, the reporter who asks no question. This time, it's about how Canada went to war to preserve freedom in South Korea, and to protect a people they didn't even know. No, Brent, they didn't. Certainly, we owe full thanks and respect for those Canadians who served in Korea, I knew many of them, including a close friend whose wounds pretty much destroyed the rest of his life. But I didn't meet a single one who had done it to protect,as this story says, a country they never knew and a people they never met. Indeed, I have never heard of any country in history which has gone to war for that reason. We went to war in Korea because the US wanted us to. It had nothing to do with democracy. South Korea was essentially a dictatorship when we went there, and still a dictatorship when we left. (President Syngman Rhee used the outbreak of the Korean war to murder 200,000 South Koreans who he suspected of being opposed to him.) At the end of World War Two, the US saw its chance for the prize it had wanted for a century, dominance of the Asian market. As the old British, Dutch, French and Japanese empires collapsed, the US was in a fever to inherit them. But there were two, big obstacles, China and the rise of communism in Asia. Canada joined in because Canadian business was tied to the success of American business. I mean, get real. Did we send help to the Vietnamese (a people we didn't know in a country we had never seen) when they were being napalmed and poisoned by the million? Did we help them when the US overthrew the elected government of South Vietnam, and set up a series of military dictators? Did we send help when the the US oversaw the murder of at least two hundred and fifty thousand Guatemalans - or when it overthrew democracy in Chile to insall a murderous dictator? And exactly who were we helping when we sent Canadian troops into the Boer War? This isn't a news report. This is propaganda. All credit to our troops, certainly. But let's not kid ourselves about why they died. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The NewsToday section has 8 pages, but with six devoted to ads. In fact, there is only one page of anything that could be called news - with the whole world covered in that one page. (Well, really less that half a page because most of it is taken up with the irrelevant story of raising a capsized ship, and the top-of-the-page item is another brain-dead piece of propaganda from Kurt Peacock about what somebody else said about how things look good in St. John.) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Those looking for deeper insight into world affairs get a break on p. 1 pf Life&Times with the story that Julia Roberts is selling her Hawaiian home for 17 million (it has four bedrooms). And, for those who need to know, the kitchen cupboards are red. That is followed by another big story on some big star I never heard of who is getting married again. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The editorial is yet another on a story that the TandT has been following closely,presumably because of its importance to the lives of all of us - the slow pace of registration for Riverview's swimming programme. As usual, Alec Bruce and Steve Malloy contribute useful and well-written columns. Craig Babstock, like all the staff writers for the TandT, has nothing whatever to say. Reading it is like listening to somebody telling a really boring joke, and who constantly giggles while he's telling it. (He could be the next Rod Allen.) In his first installment on an election platform for New Brunswick, Norbert lays the ground work. He would do good things. He would listen to good ideas, no matter who they came from. He would keep essential services, while firing large numbers of the service deliverers to cut costs. In short, his platform would be the same one as that of 90% of all the politicians I have ever heard of. He says he did the first draft in just 8 hours, including bathroom breaks. (This mindless bilge took 8 hours? You must have some dreadfully long bathroom breaks, Norbert.) He also supplies a detail one could have guessed. He tell us he did it with little research. Duh... A hint Norbert. You start with a position based on some moral view. What is the purpose of government? What is the moral (or immoral or amoral) motive that shapes your opinion of the purpose of government? Would your government encourage democracy and public involvement? If so, what would you do about the appalling monopoly of trivia and propaganda that is called news in this province?) You intend to call on the people of this province to balance the budget by making sacrifices. Will corporations, too, be asked to make sacrfices? You might think all this over because most of what you say about economic was decisively proven wrong and worse than wrong over eighty years ago. Norbert, your "platform" is so far vague, economic nonsense, and without any moral principle that I can detect. And, so far, it's identical to much of what the Liberals and Conservatives will come up with - because it's the same as what they've always come up with. This is really puerile. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ To those who have been emailing me, here's the scoop. I've changed my e mail address. In the process I've lost any mail that might have been sent since August 1.I have also lost all record of mailing lists for various newsletters and groups. So, if you administer a newsletter or other mailing list that I'm on, please re-send it. Anyway, here's the new address. graeme1decarie@gmail.com (gosh. I hope that's right...I've made SO many mistakes in this whole change of server business....)

Jan. 15: Hits and misses for the TandT in the coming week.

1. A sure fire story to appear in the TandT is that Canada'a gallant Foreign Affairs Minister spoke out to demand the US get tough on Syria. Gee. That's strange for the member of a government which supports US action, but has refused to take any part in it. Why would he do that? a) Israel wants an attack on Syria. By his unconditional support for anything Israel wants, Harper has won over the greater part of the Jewish vote which used to be NDP and Liberal. Talking big and doing nothing has worked wonders. Or - b) Baird is being a stooge for American big business which wants to destroy Syria on its way to wars against Iran - and then to move in on China. You can read all about it in a web document called Project for the New American Century. Despite its benevolemnt wording, it is a document advocating American military conquest of the world to bring "American values" (American control of trade) to it. That's what Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya and Syria and Somalia and Yemen are all about. It was prepared by people close to power - such as Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. But neither a) nor b) will appear in the TandT story. Even Baird may not appear if the need the space for a picure of Mr. Irving receiving yet another award. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Domestic violence inflicted on women costs Canada 7 billion dollars a year. Only one in ten charges of sexual assault get reported. Of those reported, only 1 in 100 is convicted. (You might see this in the weekly women's column - just where men most in need of smartening are least likely to read it. 3. Aside from low taxes and cheap labout, the reason the very, very rich are getting richer in the recession is that there is a huge market for money-lending, on their terms. That's the major reason we're seeing such a tremendous rise of profits in the midst of poverty. And much of that debt is government borrowing from banks. Yep. The major banks who caused the recession not only got paid for it, but are still making money out of it. 4. One reason the US has the highest prison population in the world is because the poor who are out of jobs are of no use to big business. But in prison, the poor work as unpaid slaves for corporations, generating corporate profits of $30,000 to $40,000 a year. Of course, the Conrad Blacks of this world get to spent time in more attractive prisons. Privately-owned prisons do especially well on this system, and corporations in general put pressure on judges to assign longer sentences. 5. Finland, whose schools are NOT modelled along business lines and do not suffer interference from billionaires "with a passion for learning" and forbids fee-paying of any sort, And it consistently has a system that outperforms most of the world - including Canada, though Canada is one the the higher ranked ones. It way outclasses recent US changes which have made US education a disaster area, the worst in the developed world. (The American system is what Mr. "passion-for-education" is promoting.) Nos. 2, 3, and 4 will not appear in the TandT. Too bad. Because the source of them also has some pretty revealing stuff about the Lac Megantic disaster. The source is http://www.politicalalternatives.ca _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Another good source for stories the TandT won't have room for is Information Clearing House. It's easy to find on google. For example, Libya and Iraq both gave up their internationally banned weapons (more vaguely called WMDs) at the demand of the US But both were invaded, anyway. Israel, which is next door to Syria and which desperately wants to destroy Syria, has stocks of illegal poison gas and of nuclear missiles. Not only does it refuse to give them up, it won't even allow UN inspection of them. It has also annexed Syrian territory over UN objections. But Mr. Baird is not outraged by that. There is also an excellent study of how economic inequality as it gets greater, not only has an effect on lifespan and health, but also destroys the whole society. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ There's a whole, new world beyond the trivia, propaganda and lies of the Brunswick Press.

Nov. 14: Let's skip section A.

Today, the best part (and the most part) of Section A is the car ads. NewsToday leads with a big story about everybody's friend, Frank McKenna. He says a pipeline deal is good for N.B. Well, what else would you expect him to say? McKenna decided a long time ago where the power is in this province, and who to kiss up to. Ever seen a headline for a story about a pipeline being bad for N.B.? No. And you aren't likely to. After all, we can go on burning oil forever. There will always be lots with no risk whatever of contamination, and the pollution will be good for the weather. We know that burning fossil fuels is changing our world. We know that it's poisoning us. We know its going to have chaotic effects on our food supply. But, hey, what the hell! Burn it while we can. Right? Let Irving have enough money so he'll never have worry about food and climate change. After all, he's the J.K. Irving who, on p. D2, won an award for his "passion and belief in the need for action to reduce poverty and help children to advance their learning." Barf alert! Much of his intervention has been to interfere with people in the schools who know what they doing without Irving's help. (What exactly, are Mr. Irving's qualification to be a leader in education. I attended Acadic shortly after him; and nothing I heard of him suggested distinguished studies.) Indeed, most of his education initiatives seem intended to move the schools toward the privatization of schooling drive, a system under which in the US has had disastrous effects on education - but which produces great profits for the Irvings of this world. Oh, yeah, "..he was humbled by the award." Another oh, yeah. The keynote address was by Framk McKenna, another man who is dedicated to helping the poor - and has succeeded nobly in relieving his own poverty. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ There is a small and already out of date story on Syria.Read Gwynne Dyer on op ed to catch up. Completely played off the world stage by Putin, Obama has agreed to the peaceful settlement of the Syrian gas issue. We'll see. There are still plenty of people in US business circles, in the French government, the Saudi government, and in Israel who would just love to see an attack on Syria. There are also those Al Quaeda mercentaries, armed and paid for by the US and Saudi, who want the war to go on. Incidentally, there are several stories on Syria that the TandT hasn't had room for. 1. While we have heard lots of venomous reporting about that terrible Mr. Snowden who released secret US documents,we have heard almost nothing about what was in them. Well, it seems one item in those documents is that US army intelligence said months ago that the Syrian rebels had sarin gas, probably through Turkey or Saudi - both US allies. ooooh. gotta jail and torture that terrible Snowden for life for endangering the safety of the American people. 2. The US has huge stories of chemical weapons - though it long ago signed agreements to get rid of them. Wouldn't this be a good time for it to set an example? 3. Syria, as part of the deal, wants the US to stop supplying the "rebels" with money and weapons. Sounds reasonable. After all - a) it is illegal under international law for the US too provide such supply. b) It is illegal in US law to supply help to terrorist groups. Will the US agree to that? Almost certainly not. And this could well be the deal-breaking excuse that Secrtary of State Kerry has been looking for. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The editorial is peurile waste of time. There are far better ones, more thoughtful, more important, and better written in the youth columns of the Whatever Section. Good column by Bill Belliveau. I don't see Quebec's Charter of Values reviving separatism, though. But I do see it severely dmamging Quebec, while neglecting all its real problems. It's really a re-run of the old "preserving a culture" theme - which was always the basis of separatism. But, you cannot preserve a culture. It's a living and therefore a changing thing. The only way to preserve it is by killing it. Bsides, I h ave never known of anyone who could define a culture. The Parti Quebecois tried for years to define a Quebec culture, and produced ideas so laughable that nobody ever mentions them any more. Indeed, the major purpose of the separatists was to change a culture that had existed for centuries. Want to preserve traditional English New Brunswick culture? Okay. Close down all these cities, and move people out to the countryside. Ban power transport and all uses of energy. Require cnurch attendance at least every Sunday (and it should be limited to Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian and Methoidst churches. Brent Mazerolle is, as ever, trivial - unless you really, really care about why butterflies lick each other's eyeballs. Norbert produces another rant with no substance at all. He wants shale gas, but he is willing to allow others to disagree. How generous! Of course, the only ones allowed to disagree are thoughtful ones, not the "wildly panicked ones." Apparently nobody of the pro-shale gas side is panicked or ignorant or unthoughtful, etc. Dr. Cleary, our Chief Medical Officer and winner of a very prestigous national award for speaking against shale gas , is we must presume, not one of the wise and thoughtful types like Norbert. No. We have to focus on the economic problem. Don't worry about shale gas. It might destroy health, lives, the lands and waters themselves. But don't worry about it. Focus on the economic benefits. Hell, Norbert, it that's the case, why don't we just rent the province out as a testing ground for nuclear weapons? that would sure create jobs and balance the budget. And we have to raise taxes, Norbert? And will that include raising them on the rich and on large corporations? Well, we know your answer, don't we, Norbert? And, of course, we have to cut down on minor services like education and health - but not on gifts to corporations and tax breaks for them. This province is being bled dry by corporations. Not once does Norbert mention that aspect of the problem. And in a article calling for "radical" solutions, he does not mention a single one. This all ends with a paragraph that says nothing whatever - and then a promise that he will annouce his political platform for 2014. I can't wait. This is a oolumn so ignorant and illogical that I can see why it's called odds and ends. It's bloody odd; and it never ends. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ One thing that has struck me about Christian churches and their various, related institutions, is that they have little serious discussion about the world that our faith is a part of and which our churches are supposed to guide us in. Judaim is quite different. I used to speak at least 60 times a year to various groups. At least half of them would be synagogues. And when I spoke in any Jewish institution, I always knew that I was expected to give a serious talk. And the turnout was always large (usually in the hundreds) and attentive and inquiring. Christian churches liked it to be a bit lighter, and rarely turned out in great numbers. (of course, most of them didn't get great numbers even on Sunday.) When I was a YMCA camp director, I could run just about any programme I liked, no matter how trivial it might be. When I ran a YMHA camp, it was made clear that this was to be a learning experience for the campers. I think of that whenever I see the Faith Page in the TandT. There, of fourteen announcements, I see almost all are of pie sales and pancake breakfasts. Only one, "Equality conference" seems to deal with the real world, and in a serious way. The sermonette is the usual trivial, if harmless, advice. We live in a world of rampant greed that has created massive poverty and massive killing and torture in wars. Would Jesus have anything to say about that. Nah. let us enjoy these lovely pancakes made by the ladies of the church. Praise the Lord. And don't rock the boat. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On a more hopeful note, I see that the Irving Chapel contiunues its good work, and invites us all to enjoyt a stroll in its garden of God's creation.And they have a speaker who is a REVEREND DOCTOR. Nothing but the best. Let me suggest something which he has probably already considered. Last Sunday, many churches had memorial services for those killed on 9/11. Perhaps the Irving Chapel could squeeze in just a moment of prayerful thought of the 47 people to died in Lac Megantic, partly, so it seems, due to a regretable error in reporting accurately to the Transport Safety Board on the volatilivy level of the cargo. After all, those 47, like all those lovely flowers, were part of God's creation. God proposes. Man disposes.

Sept. 13: Where the tell did Brunswick News dig up a Kurt Peacock?

There he is (almost) every day at the head of the NewsToday section. And I can think of no reason wny. His piece is not a news story. It's a (sort of) opinion column. Invariably, it quotes a hero from a member of the Irving crowd on some issue, treats it like holy writ, then rambles off on his own into what might be an argument but is so incoherent, nobody can tell. In this case when it deals with fracking, it pays no attention to the issues of health and the environment at all. And it always ends with a sentence that would bring tears of joy to Mr. Irving's eyes. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Speaking of bias and ignorance, Norbert Cunningham strikes again. His column today slams Alward. though more gently than he blind-sided liberal leader Gallant yesterday. But the conclusion is always the same. All politicians are incompetent - with the implication that all business execs are really caapable and intelligent. In this ranting, there are some rather important points he misses. 1. It's not the politicians that run this province. It's Mr. Irving and big business execs. So if it is run imcompetently, that is because of Mr. Irving and big bsuiness execs. Try to understand, Norbert, being rich does not make anyone a genius or even passably intelligent. On the contrary, big business is notoriously short-sighted, destructive; and, in any case, governing a province has no resemblance to the practice of governing a company. The assumption that business knowa how to do things better is why we are seeing such damaging change in our health system and, lower profile, in our schools. As well, bear in mind the long-term objective of these changes. It is a slow approach to privatizing both health care and education. That is exactly the path that has been followed in the US, and it's been a disaster. But, then, I suppose those voters dumb enough to vote for the two Irving parties are too dumb to care what happens to health or education. 2. Related to this is the silly idea that the growth and profit of big business benefits all of us because it then invests and creates jobs. That is so simple-minded that even Norbert believes it. For almost eight years, big business has been making record profits. So where is all the American prosperity? Why is Detroit a ghost city? Why are unemployment and poverty at record rates? The US has forced low business taxes and an open field for big business across Central America for over a century. So tell me about the rich countries like Haiti and Guatemala. Big profits do NOT automatically turn into profits for you. Big business has pulled huge profits out of Congo for well over a hundred years. It remains one of the poorest and most brutal countries in the world - with the brutality largely coming from our mining industries in that country. Somebody has been making a hell of a lot of money out of this province. But do you see any streets paved with gold out there? So where has all that money gone? 3. Norbert dismisses that at least three other parties in this province as having no positions on anything. I would call Mr. Norbert a liear for saying that if I weren't so sure that he's too ignorant and bigoted to lie. If you make such a condemnation, you have to argue it. You have to provide evidence of it.But Norbert just slanders them in one sentence. The result? without saying so he leaves just two choices on voting day - Liberal or Conservative, both controlled by big business. And if New Brunswick does that,it's dead meat. Oh, yes. He also opens the door for big business to suck this province even drier than it has done. Anyone fool enough to do that should move to Haiti or Congo to see how that works. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On Canada, we learn that Foreign Affairs Minister Baird will meet with Turkey to discuss Syria. So who cares? Canada is not a world power. It's at best the bell boy in the hotel of world power. Besides, everybody knows that Harper is a US stooge. The more important news from Syria is that US Secretary of State Kerry is demanding that Syria dispose of its chemical weapons within a week. Meanwhile, the US promised to dispose of its chemical weapons over 15 years ago but, with hundreds of tons wtill in storage, has not completed the job, presumably because it requires a lot of time. Kerry knows that, of course. He also knows that all he's doing in setting a one-week deadline is trying to scuttle a peaceful settlement so he can help the Syrian people by killing more of them. And all over the world (except in our lying newspapers), the US is looking like the villain and Putin ( as villainous as any US president) is looking like the reasonable one. Don't kid yourself than Putin is good. But don't kid yourself that our side is at all better. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Items I douldn't find in today's paper --- 1. That Irving Oil misled the Transport Safety Bueau by listing its crude oil as being of a much safer type than it really was. 47 people are dead. But who cares? I notice many papers in Canada have not carried the story. The one source that has been quick and accurate is CBC. That's why Harper - under the urging of friends like the Irvings - would like to destroy CBC. That way they can escape the terrible criticism they might get for killing 47 that nobody knew, anayway. 2. What's the scoop on Prof. Lapierre? We now know, no matter what he may say, that he does not have the degree and the qualifications he claims to have. Any comment Mr. editor? Norbert? Kurt Peacock? Does any of you know how to judge qualifications? Have you asked anybody how to do it? 3. The TandT continues to praise the wisdom of Prof. Savoie; indeed, it slobbers wet kisses all over him. Is the TandT aware that that strong qualifications in one field do not make you qualified in another. For example, I have a Ph.D in History. But that has not led anyone to ask me for advice on how to build a bridge (or even to open a lobster.) Prof. Savoie has qualifications in public policy planning, we are told. Okay. Does anybody at the TandT actually know what that means? And can they explain how a public policy planner is better qualified to discuss the health effects of fracking than a medical doctor is? ________________