China Must be Called to Task Over Human Rights Violations

Stephen Harper is visiting China for trade talks, and many believe that as the heads of the two countries meet, human rights issues must be addressed.

Warning:  These stories may be disturbing.

 - A vocal opponent of the government and an advocate for human rights, is routinely questioned.  They also target his associates and friends warning them that the man is an anarchist, despite the fact that he is merely a vocal opponent of the government . (1)

 - A popular U.S. journalist is stopped at the border and held for 90 minutes as officials search her papers and computer then demand to know what she will be speaking about when in the country. (2)

- Foreign lecturers are routinely banned if it is deemed that their views contradict government policy (3)

- Without even engaging in protests, citizens are harassed on the chance that they might. (4)

- The government regularly monitors newspapers, broadcasts, and websites. (5)

- Policing at protests is militarized. (6)

- Journalists are silenced (7), arrested (8), intimidated by police (9) and held hostage (10).

- Books are banned (11), scientists (12), whistle blowers (13) and police (14) are silenced.

- University professors are targeted. (15)

- Anyone protesting government policy is automatically deemed to be an enemy of the state. (16)

- The country is even being investigated for possible war crimes. (17)

And things are not much better in China.

The media is criticizing Stephen Harper's down on his knees begging for Chinese exports, as being hypocritical.  For years he purposely shunned them, saying that some things were more important than the "almighty dollar".

However, I think the real hypocrisy is coming from the Canadian people.  We are demanding that China be held to account for its human rights abuses, while ignoring the growing number of human rights abuses at home.

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see." -  Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sources:

1. When CSIS rings your doorbell: With the G20 Summit approaching, political activists accuse the federal spy agency of trying to undermine democracy and freedom of speech,  by Catherine Solyom, The Gazette June 11, 2010

2. U.S. journalist grilled at Canada border crossing

3a. Too Dangerous for Canada
3b. Banned From Canada for a Year for War Protest,  by Ann Wright, October 30, 2007
3c. U.S. anti-war protester barred from Canada: And Peace Activist Alison Bodine was banned for     two years, The Chronicle, October 30, 2007

4.  RCMP Deny Harassing Olympic Protesters 

5. Ottawa spends nearly $40 million on media monitoring

6a. May Toronto's G20 be the last
6b. Amnesty International calls for review of security measures at G8 and G20 summits in Ontario
6c. 'I have lived in Toronto for 32 years. have never seen a day like this'
6d. Young protester not backing down
6e. Diversion possible

7. Controlling The Message
7b. PM Harper's iron message control working

8. WHO GAVE THE G20 COMMANDER HIS COMMANDS?
8b. Canadian journalist arrested, possibly beaten

9. Cons Order RCMP to Block Media  Media have no flight plan on PM's plane

10. Media have no flight plan on PM's plane

11. Tories muzzle environmental scientist: Catch a fire

12. Federal scientist unfairly silenced, union says

13. Effectively silencing Canada’s whistleblowers
 
14. Federal government has no business micromanaging RCMP commissioner

15. Tories accused of digging up dirt on ‘Liberal’ profs

16. Affidavit accuses Prime Minister's Office of threatening environmental charity
 
17. Could Canadians be charged with war crimes? If public inquiry not called, Canadians may be charged at International Criminal Court

Dean Del Mastro Says His Government Can't Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time

Dean Del Mastro, the Reform-Conservative MP for Peterborough, suggested that during their two and half month Prorogue-Vacation, his government can't be expected to walk and chew gum at the time.

They were preparing for the Olympics, and despite the fact that in British Columbia, where the games were held, could still keep their legislature open; Dean just felt that his own government was not mentally equipped for multi-tasking.

Suspending Parliament until March 3 allows the government and the country to focus on the Vancouver Olympics and Parliament to refocus on priorities when it returns, says Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government announced yesterday that Parliament would be shut down until March 3, with a budget presented the following day. Parliament was originally scheduled to return on Jan. 25.

Proroguing Parliament allows the government to focus on the Olympic Games and associated issues such as security, foreign dignitaries and preparations, Del Mastro said.

This was quite odd, because Canada has hosted the Olympics before and Parliament remained open.

Poor Dean. He just doesn't get it.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS DEAN DEL MASTRO REALLY THE BEST CHOICE FOR PETERBOROUGH?

The Olympics are Over and it's Time to Clean Up the Mess

Like most Canadians I applaud the accomplishments of our athletes, but now that the games are over and the medals have been given a place of honour, it's time to clean up the mess. And I don't just mean sweeping the sidewalks and tearing down the fences.

These games have almost bankrupted a province, and put a huge dent in the federal coffers. Or maybe I should say debt, because we will be paying for this for many years.

But in our attempt to 'balance the books', we can't ignore those who have been forced to suffer so Canada could own the podium. Homelessness has tripled in Vancouver, and it is a scene played out across the country.

Jim Flaherty's plan to go ahead with the glutinous tax breaks to corporations, with plans for more; will make a lot of people wealthy. Just not those people in the video or the majority of Canadians.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

Stephen Harper, Adolph Hitler and the Quest for Gold

I don't usually compare Stephen Harper to Adolph Hitler, except in fun; but I'm mad so I will compare him to Genghis Khan if I want to.

The following is an excerpt from Hitler's Ambitious Plans for the 1936 Olympics, By Jeffrey O. Segrave:

The Berlin games, as almost everyone now knows, were also the first to overtly use the Olympic festival for conspicuously and identifiably political purposes, "an obscuring layer of shimmering froth on a noxious wave of destiny," as historian Richard Mandell once called the Berlin ceremonial.

And the Berlin organizers certainly proved to be adept, imaginative, and creative in the use of pageantry and symbols, especially in the service of a distinctly Teutonic agenda that furthered the political ambitions of the insurgent Nazi party. We owe the famed torch relay to the modern German not the ancient Greek imagination.

And in today's Globe:

Halfway through the Winter Olympics and Stephen Harper's Tories are already out with a new video campaign, starring Mike Duffy, pitching pride and patriotism in our athletes and country .... Ms. Greene Raine compares the athletes to “our strong leader,” Mr. Harper, who is in a competition of his own: “With our strong leader Canada will continue to compete with the world’s best,” she says. And Mr. Duffy, who also refers to his colleague as “my Olympic champion,” goes on to say, “We Conservatives are champions in our own right

Nik Nanos, of Nanos Research, says these Games can help bolster the image of a politician. For Canadians to see the Prime Minister at events, cheering on the country’s athletes, provides a platform for him to display a “human face...” As for Mr. Bricker, he says that regardless of how many medals the Canadian team wins, in the end it’s all about hockey. “A true downer would be the men’s hockey team getting less than gold,” he says. And so no matter how proud and patriotic Mike Duffy, Nancy Greene Raine and Stephen Harper want us to feel, they have to know that the only truly good feeling for Canadians is riding on an unpredictable puck.

Wow! Where do I start? Or maybe I should say, don't get me started.

Has everyone gone nuts? A feel good Olympics and a hockey victory will lull us into a trance and make us forget that we have a leader who will not speak to our media; who will not speak to us; who will not address a single issue.

Who hides behind our troops, exploits a crisis for photo-ops and signs a Buy America/Sell Canada trade agreement without input or debate from anyone.

Who thinks it's OK to shut down our Parliament, our only voice to our government since his caucus are all muzzled. Lock out other elected officials for 2 1/2 months, and we will just kiss and make up; if the men's hockey team wins a gold medal.

Is he asking 2/3 of Canadians who oppose his dictatorial style to cheer for the other team, if it's the only way we can get rid of him?

This man is unbelievable.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

Harper's Reformers Continue to Trash Canadian Culture

Westerners, but especially Albertans, founded the Reform/Alliance to get 'in' to Canada. The rest of the country has responded by telling us in no uncertain terms that we do not share their 'Canadian values.' Fine. Let us build a society on Alberta values." Stephen Harper

That Stephen Harper and his Reformers have no respect for Canadian culture or identity, is an understatement. They instead have a projected image of Canadian culture and Canadian values, from Texans because of the oil boom, and from watching far too much American television.

Fortunately, Harper's quote above does not include the majority of Albertans, who have always been known for a progressive spirit, but it does reflect the feelings of his party and supporters.

It's kind of a cowboy mentality. Law and order, guns, war and manly sports. And that is the image they are trying to project for our country.

When will they realize that is not who we are?

Take Jason Kenney's new citizenship handbook. Historian Margaret Conrad said of the new guide, that it “represents a new kind of Canada, one that is less sympathetic with my personal sense of a progressive, forward-looking nation, but the new slant is no doubt in keeping with the sentiments of the current administration in Ottawa.”

Sentiments of the current administration indeed. But hardly reflective of the sentiments of the majority of Canadians.

The emphasis on the Queen and the Canadian Forces also struck her as unusual. “It's kind of like a throwback to the 1950s,” she said. “It's a tough, manly country with military and sports heroes that are all men. “It's a tougher Canada than the one the Liberals depicted.”

The latest attack on our culture comes from that horrendous looking Canadian pavilion at the Vancouver Olympics. The contract for the facility was given to an American firm, and it ran more than a million dollars over budget. But look at it. Other than the name Canada above the door, what possible design reflects who we are? It looks like a bus terminal.

Yet Dean Del Mastro, justified using an American firm by saying "It will celebrate everything that Canada has to offer. Everything from our heritage and our culture, from First Nations to settlers, everything that this country is all about." What?

Of course even the interior did not celebrate 'everything that Canada has to offer'.

Though Heritage Minister James Moore defends the design, visitors see it a little differently.

But even as Moore trumpeted the successes of Canada's controversial tent, he didn't disagree there are likely to be those who might leave its clutches feeling less than satisfied. That was the case on Monday, as some of those trickling out were scratching their heads and questioning why there was not more substantive information in the exhibit about Canada's culture or history.

"I didn't find it was that interesting," said Marie Klein of Seattle as she emerged from an exit."I would have thought there would have been more displays about Canada," she added. "I give it about a five on a scale of one to 10," said Roy Kendall of Victoria, adding he would have expected a lot more for the money that was spent.

These guys just don't get us and they never will.

Arrogance and the Corporate Media Have Helped to Taint the Olympics

Before they even began, the Vancouver Olympic Games had been tainted by politics.

Pollsters and pundits suggested that they would be Harper's ace in the hole. That Canadians would forget his possible complicity in war crimes, and shutting out our elected officials, to declare himself our first dictator.

That he would win Olympic majority gold, as we all hailed the conquering hero.

But like everything this government does, they turned the Canadian Olympics into the Conservative Party of Canada Olympics; with all the ugliness that defines the Reform movement.

On Monday, the Vancouver Sun reported, Canada's Olympic image is taking a beating in media reports

This was not the face Olympics organizers had hoped to present to the world, but even with the competition under way, athletic accomplishments are sharing airtime and print space with questions over the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and reports of riot police quelling masked protesters on the host city's main street. The image of polite Canadians has been taking a drubbing in media reports.

Yesterday, the Montreal Gazette ran an article; If arrogant nationalism were a sport, Canada would win gold. Canada Arrogant? We were never arrogant.

The Olympics are supposed to be uplifting. So far, the Vancouver Olympics are anything but. The problem starts at the very top: the Own the Podium initiative, that federally sponsored program that aims to overcompensate for the supposed ignominy of Canada's modest collection of medals at past Olympics by making this country the No. 1 nation in terms of medals won.

That's right, No. 1. Arrogance, not the Olympic spirit, is what inspires Own the Podium. Yes, let's not forget the Olympic spirit. It's that corny but terrific idea that, in the words of Pierre de Coubertin, "The important thing is not to win but to take part." That idea has become unfashionable in recent decades, but the organizers of these Games have consigned it to oblivion.

From Jason Kenney and his party's assault on our maple leaf, to reports that we may have cheated by not allowing other countries adequate practice time and deliberately designing the luge track to add obstacles that may have caused the death of a young man; we have turned these games, from what should have been a source of national pride, into a national shame.

They have been hijacked by a political party that has never put this country first, and according to David Eby, even the corporate media have joined in to muddy the waters further, by making the Vancouver Olympics one of most challenging ever for journalists.

Sponsorship dollars, concentrated media, short-term corporate decision making and anti-transparency initiatives by Olympic agencies have combined to make Vancouver’s Olympics one of the most challenging Olympic Games ever for journalists to navigate with ethics intact and story in hand. ... To the surprise of many, more than just sponsorship investments tied news agencies to the Games. Reporters were served up for the IOC as mascots for the Olympics. CTV proudly announced that 27 of its "storytellers" would actually be carrying the Olympic torch as it made its way across Canada.

Yes, media personalities from CTV, decided that they were more deserving to carry the Olympic torch than inspiring Canadians. Those same media personalities who back in the day when being a journalist meant something, might be trying to discover just what went on behind the scenes.

Stories of corruption within the IOC abound. Stories of ridiculous security, cost overruns, and people being evicted from their homes for no other reason than that they lived too close to the venues, and landlords cashed in on $500.00 dollar a night rates. Stories of an intentionally unsafe luge.

None of these things are on their radar.

And as Eby summarizes:

More than anything, journalists should rue this loss. Not the loss of the investigative resources that won’t ever be dedicated to digging into VANOC or the IOC’s sins, not the loss of access to government documents, not the loss of a fair process around accreditation, but the loss of the independent and trusted voice of the journalist.

What surely stings most about this loss is not that it comes as a result of decisions made by any individual reporter, but that the loss of trust comes simply because the biggest circus in the world came to town and Canada’s news outlets made better advertising agencies than truth tellers in the short-term math of the boardroom.

Trusted voice of the journalist. I think I remember those days. But sadly they went out with the mullet.

British Columnist Blames Canada For Young Luger's Death

At one time if I'd read that statement, I would have dismissed it.

But this country has changed, and the real story here is not that we are being accused of something so egregious, but that someone would think that this country was capable of such actions. If things we did resulted in this athlete's death. Things that could have been avoided.

Martin Samuel certainly thinks so, and he's not alone.

Canada's lust for glory is to blame for this senseless tragedy

Canada wanted to Own The Podium at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. This morning they can put their maple leaf stamp on something more instantly tangible: the nondescript little box carrying the lifeless body of Nodar Kumaritashvili back to his home in Bakuriani, Georgia. Made in Canada, it should say ....

And why would Samuel draw that conclusion?

Because for months, other nations have been accusing Canada of taking unfair advantage of their home turf.

The track in Whistler is the most demanding ever constructed - 1,450m in length, the largest vertical drop in the world - 152m - with 16 corners and a top speed of 150km/h, all producing a maximum of 5.02 Gs. But the Vancouver Organising Committee have restricted overseas nations to one week's training on the track, the minimum practice time permitted ...

"It's going to be difficult and I know it's on the back of everyone's mind that we've had nowhere near as many runs as the Canadians," said Williams. "We're all thinking it's unfair because you're battling your hardest yet you know they've got such an advantage ... "They've given us a week's training where we'll have 40 runs and for them the sky is the limit - 400 to 500 runs and every run counts.

The Star Tribune from Minniapolis - St. Paul, ran the story under the headline: Canada: No more Mr. Nice Guy:

"Own The Podium," created five years ago, has funded everything from additional training camps to world-renowned coaches to development of cutting-edge equipment. Most of the money has been directed toward sports in which Canadians have the best chances to medal, including hockey, curling and speedskating.

The program represents a significant cultural shift for this nice-guy nation. Canada has not been afraid to hurt other countries' feelings by limiting training time at Olympic venues, a departure from protocol that has drawn criticism outside its borders. It has put its athletes front and center during the buildup to the Games, creating higher expectations -- and more pressure -- than usual.

And even the Huffington Post suggests that We are Washing Away Blood on Guilty Hands. Ed Berliner states that the track in Vancouver was specifically designed to produce times much faster than normally accepted, so as to give Canadians record times, since they would have had far more experience.

The Vancouver track was tested in advance of the Games. The results were alarming and should have set off not merely concerns about the speed, but how it could affect the competition. Speeds of up to 95 MPH. A 12 percent increase in what was planned and expected. Well beyond the current endurance level of these athletes. Well beyond what left the designer's table. At Vancouver, everyone knew and failed to rectify a nightmare waiting to happen.

...Even Udo Gurgel knew something had gone terrible wrong with his track. This was certainly not what his expertise had designed. After all, Canadian athletes had been training on this course for weeks and months, so they had plenty of time to acclimate themselves. Members of the Canadian team had over 300 runs apiece on this track. Other team racers were limited to 40 runs. No mistake. This was planned.

Is this really who we are now?

That winning is everything, even if it means blatantly cheating?

Will other nations look at us, not as able competitor's who rose to the top of our game, but as connivers who made sure that no one else could?

Even the 21 year old victim knew that something was amiss. Just shortly before making his final run, Nodar Kumaritashvili called his dad, stating that he was afraid of the 'brand new, lightning-quick track in Whistler.'

He told me, 'Dad, I really fear that curve,"' David Kumaritashvili, a former luger himself, told The Associated Press at his home in the snow-covered slopes of Georgia's top ski resort.

"I'm a former athlete myself, and I told him, 'you just take a slower start,"' recalled Kumaritashvili, who at times struggled to hold back tears. "But he responded, 'Dad, what kind of thing you are teaching me? I have come to the Olympics to try to win."'

Update on Olympics Protests. They are Not About the Athletes.

Yesterday, approximately twenty five hundred protesters in Vancouver, came out to voice their concerns, not just over the enormous cost and spectacle of the Olympics, but also the death of our democracy and the need for drastic changes.

The Tyee confirmed that it mostly peaceful:

"I'm not surprised that there was a small amount of violence, but overall everyone behaved very well," said Michael Byers, a UBC professor and member of the 2010 Olympics Civil Liberties Advisory Committee.

"It's a pretty positive vibe out here."


Today's protest is the first major demonstration against the 2010 Games. It climaxes years of speculation about the potential for confrontation between protesters and a $900 million Olympics security force. Police in bright yellow jackets watched the proceedings from the sidelines, but did not appear intent on an intervention. 


In New York , The Nation Magazine confirms that ,"... protesters are finding wide support among the local public."

Most Canadian newspapers are inferring that this is an attack on the athletes and columnists are suggesting that we let patriotism rule the day.

However, this isn't about the athletes, or our patriotism; but a protest against our government and their removal of the public from decisions made on our behalf.

Besides, Stephen Harper gave up his right to cry patriotism when he allowed a U.S. firm to build the ugly Canadian pavilion.

And he gave up his right to cry patriotism, when he allowed Arnold Schwarzenegger to carry the Olympic flame, clearly going for celebrity over national pride.

And he gave up his right to cry patriotism, when he handed over our country on a silver platter, to the U.S.A., with his horrendous 'Buy American' trade off.

So protesters are not attacking our athletes. But what I find more offensive is the fact that the pollsters are salivating over whether or not Harper's feel good appearance at these events will give him a boost in the polls.

So who's unpatriotic now?

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

Go Canada! But to be Honest I'll Just be Glad When the Olympics Are Over

I have been trying to convince myself to get pumped up about the Olympics, but I absolutely cannot. This has nothing to do with the athletes, and yes it will be nice if we win a few gold medals, but the entire event has been so tainted, that I'll just be glad when they're over and we can get back to our lives.

And no this does not make me unpatriotic.

Unpatriotic would be to allow an American firm to build the Canadian pavilion.

And unpatriotic would be to sell Canada to the U.S. while spectators are enjoying the games.

Gerald Caplan has a great piece in the Globe today about the state of our country and why he can't get into this fiasco either. While Harper sits grinning, refusing to address the Canadian public, and answer questions about his latest treasonable actions; the hypocrisy is just too overwhelming, so I will be sitting this one out.

The grinch steals the Games

I am suddenly feeling my cherished Canadian sense of liberty being chipped away.

I can't lend money to a fellow Canadian, Abousfian Abdelrazik, who is accused of terrorism but is guilty of nothing. He has been made a non-person by a disgraceful UN witch-hunt that the United States initiated and Canada refuses to fight.

And then of course there's the whole Israel thing:

I can't criticize the government of Israel, even when it is extremist, chauvinistic, racist and brutal without being labelled a self-hating Jew, or –who knows? – maybe even an anti-Semite.

An unholy alliance between the Jewish establishment, which does not represent the views of thousands of Canadian Jews, and the Harper government, which does not represent the views of a majority of Canadians, has created a new code of free speech for Canadians: We are not permitted apply the same standards of conduct to Israel as we do to all other countries in the world without being charged with anti-Semitism.

And the freedom of speech thing:

And I apparently can't write this column critical of the International Olympics Committee without the threat that mysterious police officials will question me, my family and friends about whether I'm a danger to – who knows what? That's exactly what's happened to other critics. This kind of harassment, persecution, arbitrariness, authoritarianism and suppression of ordinary Charter rights is only too accurate a reflection of what the Olympics – athletes aside – seems really all about.

He then goes on to explain the corruption and commercialism, making these games more about the competition of brands than athletes.

Yep, I'm sitting this one out.

So Why is an American Firm Building the Canadian Pavilion at the Olympics?

With many Canadians struggling and all businesses in need of a boost, why did the contract to build Canada's pavilion for the Olympics, go to a Chicago firm.

I assume the Reformers do know that Chicago is not in Canada, right?

Of course, Dean Del Mastro, whose not the brightest bulb on the tree anyway, justified using an American firm by saying "It will celebrate everything that Canada has to offer. everything from our heritage and our culture, from First Nations to settlers, everything that this country is all about." And a Canadian company couldn't handle this?

U.S. firm building Canada’s Olympic pavilion
Damian Inwood,
Canwest News Service
November 28, 2009

VANCOUVER -- Canada's $9.2-million, Olympic pavilion is being built by a U.S. firm from Chicago. And Joyce Murray, Liberal MP for Vancouver Quadra, is accusing the federal government of badly botching the contracting process by waiting too long to issue it.

"Think about it: these are Canada's Games, taking place in Canada, and the project is for Canada's pavilion and it's being built by an American firm," she said. "The timeline excluded a lot of Canadian firms that would have otherwise been eminently capable of doing this work. This is something that they've known they would be doing for four years."

The contract was awarded to Giltspur Exhibits, a Chicago-based company, for more than $9.2 million after a two-week request for proposals process on MERX, the federal government's tendering website ....