What a difference a day makes. One moment I'm celebrating the restoration of Canada, and the return of hope and optimism
And the next moment I'm holding my head with both hands, and mumbling oh no not again.
And wondering who are those bestial religious fanatics who would slaughter the innocent, and then blow themselves up happily?
And as if that wasn't horrible enough, then there was the Con media in this country, trying to use that tragedy to attack Justin Trudeau.
Like Joe Warmington, the dumb as a spoon Sun columnist...
Going after Trudeau before he could be briefed and issue a statement.
Or John Ivison, his fellow Postmedia hoofer, tap-dancing for his bosses, by trying to link the Paris massacre to Trudeau's decision to end our tiny bombing mission in Iraq.
Or his fellow tap dancer David Akin demanding to know, right there and then, whether Trudeau would change his plans to end our combat mission and scrap Bill C-51.
While Stephen Taylor, the head of the Blogging Tories, tried to link the attack to the government's plan to bring in thousands of Syrian refugees...
Which although he quickly deleted that tweet, was followed by one from one of Taylor's most popular bloggers, claiming that Trudeau looked out of it at his news conference...
Or even more outrageously by Dean Skoreyko, one of the most groteque Con internet trolls, suggesting that progressives lack the will to fight terrorism...
When in fact studies studies show that it's the Cons who have a problem. An enlarged fear gland.
Peering inside the brain with MRI scans, researchers at University College London found that self-described conservative students had a larger amygdala (link is external) than liberals. The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure deep in the brain that is active during states of fear and anxiety. Liberals had more gray matter at least in the anterior cingulate cortex, a region of the brain that helps people cope with complexity.
Which because they can't cope with complexity, and are scared of everything, drives them to say and do crazy things when they feel threatened.
Or in the case of Ann Coulter, the skanky Republican commentator, gives them a very poor grip on reality...
But of course all this crazy Con stuff is deeply disturbing. You can't help feeling that they are cheering for the terrorists.
And it can't help but remind me of the mental state of our fallen dictator Stephen Harper.
Who brought his Twitter account back from the dead yesterday so he could tweet this...
Which strongly suggests to me how he REALLY must be feeling...
And should remind us that we all just dodged a bullet.
For had that attack happened during the election, he might be Prime Minister today.
And we might be living in a police state...
But luckily we did defeat him, and although it's now clear the the Cons and their stooges in the corporate media will go after Justin Trudeau like a pack of rabid hyenas.
I'm happy to happy to report that in my neighbourhood last night we were sending a simple message of solidarity to the French people....
Letting them know that we are with them, that we are not afraid either.
That we will not give up our hopes for a better future.
And that we take this from what happened yesterday:
Terrorists who slaughter the innocent are diseased cowards, but cannot threaten healthy democracies.
Religion is madness. The Great War on Terror is an abysmal failure.
And the Cons are the scum of the earth...
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You know, the last time this happened, and everyone rallied around Paris, and all the neo-liberal asswipe authoritarian politicians marched arm-in-arm for "freedom" I could only feel a slight quiver of nausea over how so many people reflexively feel kinship and solidarity with victims from a major European ally, but we collectively shrug our shoulders at the daily carnage ENACTED BY OUR OWN COUNTRIES throughout the world.
ReplyDeleteIslamophobia has been festering for decades now. We've been rampaging in majority-Muslim countries, ... well, since forever, if you count the French and the British and the Israelis.
Only in the past few years has the European Muslim community begun to produce militant hot-heads lashing out violently like this.
The answer to the problem is quite the opposite of these right-wing pants-pissers' recommendations actually. The answer is not the ludicrous C-51 or our bullshit campaign against the Sunni oil-sheiks' fanatical chumps in ISIS or whatever. Let's let Putin, Assad, Iran and Hezbollah, Iraq and the Kurds take care of that one. (They seem to be doing a better job of it than NATO and its Mid-East alies.)
The answer is to stop killing and abusing Muslims on a daily basis. Provide jobs for everyone. Combat bigotry. Realize that the Great War on Terror is the Great Bullshit War on Terror.
Abso-fucking-lutely right!
DeleteSee "Ranger Against War" (u.s. blogger--ex-special forces) for the take he has on the P.W.O.T. (phony war on terror) started for, by, and the brainchild of, western capitalists who are all cashing in like crazy right now on this global phenom.
The allies of the u.s. military/industrial complex (see Dwight D Eisenhower) are going to start finding out what that blind, idiotic faith will cost them, This is, already in the mind(s) of a lot of ex C.M.F., the beginning of World War III. I have been told so by the guys who were in Afghanistan or Iraq who are now back home here trying to fit into a world that they can't even relate to a lot of the time (NOT THEIR DOING OR THEIR FAULT).
God help us all. If we don't start thinking with our big brain really quick instead of participating in these ridiculous "who's got the biggest dick" contests that western capitalists are so madly obsessed with now, we really might just be seeing the beginning of the end for us en masse as a race on this little blue rock we call home.
I hope I'm wrong.
This screed of mine does not exonerate the actions that occurred in Paris either. But we, et al, had better realize the blowback this represents from the peoples we have been indiscriminately bombing the fuck out of since 1991 and probably ("secretly") a hell of a lot longer than that. The motherfucking chickens is coming home to roost!
Hiya, Thwap! How the hell are ya?
You have put it concisely..we all shudder at the atrocities but refuse to look in the mirror and shoulder our own political and economic responsibility...the Kurds are doing the job for us...and they deserve all the credit, they have been fighting their own battles for decades now..why we are there at all, is. purely and simply, the same bullshit reason that we rationalize all such invasive procedures...oil and its aftermath...
DeleteYes, it sucks that civilians are getting murdered..but civilians (you and me) have turned a blind eye to this exploitation for centuries, not knowing or caring about reasons...
mizdzarlin, you said it right. in a manner, our chickens have come home to roost and we are dumb enough to wonder why.
DeleteThis article has a capture from the Twitter feed of a Republican candidate for American Senator who supported the attack in Lebanon the previous day. All such attacks no matter where they happen are disgusting attacks on civilized society by right wing crazy brainwashed people who do not or will not recognize the value of life. "When my people died, they did not send the world in mourning. Their death was but an irrelevant fleck along the international news cycle, something that happens in those parts of the world." http://stateofmind13.com/2015/11/14/from-beirut-this-is-paris-in-a-world-that-doesnt-care-about-arab-lives/
Deletehi thwap...yes, you're right, we need to take a look at the bigger picture, and remember that this anger did not come from nowhere. I was planning to mention that in the post, but ran out of time. It is important at a time when vengeance is in the air, that the Great war on Terror is the one where war first creates the problem and then needs another war to fix it, and one war follows the other. And of course take a hard look at some of our so-called allies in the Middle East who are a big part of the problem....
Deletethwap, you are right that "jobs for everyone" is a big one. Not that all the would-be jihadis are poor or uneducated, but there are huge numbers of precarious young people in Western and Middle Eastern societies who are reserve armies for such destructive movements, which are a sad caricature of anti-imperialist movements of decades past.
ReplyDeleteAll those tweets from those twits reinforces why I voted Liberal and why I never pay any real attention to those right wing dick-head newspapers. Were they tweeting "where's Harper" when he disappeared during the height of the attack on Parliament Hill? I'm sure they didn't. Harper left the nation dangling for over 10 hours while he cleaned his undergarments after his "closet encounter of the cowardly kind". His excuse that he was following "the rules" is the most hypocritical thing I ever heard because since when did Harper follow "the rules"? If it benefitted him, he followed them.
ReplyDeleteThese idiots can tweet their stupidity all they want because it shows the rest of us just how ridiculous and irrelevant they are.
JD
hi JD...yes thanks goodness we defeated them, and they are not determining our future. But I wanted to show everyone how the Cons are gearing up to attack Trudeau, and can count on their allies in the MSM to go after him like rabid animals. They actually believe they can force him to resign before his term is over, so we need to be prepared to take them on and stand up for the Canada we want....
DeleteExactly.
DeleteWhile I pay some attention to Postmedia's yellow journalism, is only to roll my eyes at how it vindicates and maintains my disgust. And the reappearance of one of the leading con artists in order to capitalize on other's misery, deepens my disgust endlessly.
You are right .
ReplyDeleteWell. while I think your appraisal of Harper is correct, he at least is sane enough not to come across like a the irrational idiots they are. Well I except Joanne Bly who was just making an observation, not a flattering one but just an observation.
ReplyDeleteSkoreyko, on the other hand sound a lot like a rabid US Republican who thinks Pinochet was a leftie.
hi jrkrideau....no I don't think he will want to stick his head out of his hole too far, but you can see that he believes the Paris attack will vindicate him, and breathe life into his moribund party again. But as I told JD, what it does also show is that the media are just looking for an excuse to jump all over Justin Trudeau in a manner they never did to Harper. So there will be trouble ahead, and we need to make sure we remain strong enough to counter it...
DeleteI hope Trudeau takes this opportunity to "commit sociology". We need to understand why this kind of atrocity happened before we do something stupid that ensures that the cycle of violence repeats itself. We have been in this cycle for far too long and it needs to stop. We can take the first step and restore Canada's reputation as a fair and balanced peace keeper and mediator.
ReplyDeletehi unknown....Trudeau has promised to make decisions in a transparent and evidence based manner so I'm hopeful we can do more to understand why atrocities like this one happen. And in our country we need to do more to deal with alienated youth, and find smart ways to steer them away from those who would recruit them into their violent groups. We have been pretty successful in this country when it comes to avoiding serious terrorist attacks. But we can always be smarter and better....
DeleteYeah, this had "nothing at all" to do with the cluster fuck known as the pointless US Invasion of Iraq that most if not all these fucking clowns trumpeted and wished Canada had joined in on. One the best things Jean Cretien ever did was keep Canada out of this.
ReplyDeleteYou are right thwap. Lots of unemployed youth (and adults) every where not just here in Canada but around the 1st world. Lot of dissatisfaction and anger. A fertile ground to till by maniacs like ISIS who would rather the world burn with them. The Tory wingnut I know at work is angry about the same things I am (lack of good jobs, rising prices and no real opportunities for anyone who wasn't well connected) but still believed in Harper (till about 2 months ago.) He wanted to blame immigrants (but he's not really a racist.) He's finally figured out (after 3 years I've known him) that all of us common folk and newcomers are in the same leaking shitty boat.
Maybe 20 years ago I would have scoffed at the notion of "jobs and love and tolerance" and demanded blood, but that was the stupidity/ignorance of youth. Better love than living in the seemingly cartoon blood vengeance based world pushed by unthinking chickenhawk Rambos of the world like the above tweeters.
"the pointless US Invasion of Iraq"...
DeleteFull Show: The Lies That Lead to War
June 27, 2014
http://billmoyers.com/episode/the-truth-vs-dcs-propaganda-machine/
Full Show: Chaos in Iraq
June 20, 2014
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-chaos-in-iraq/?gclid=CPiw0Ji2or8CFZSEfgodCFwA7w
935 LIES
The Future Of Truth and the Decline of America's Moral Integrity
Charles Lewis
http://www.935lies.com/
hi Dan...yes the insane war on Iraq is at the root of the terrorist problem we now face. The American and their allies destroyed that country, and laid the table for the arrival of ISIS. And yes, life is too short to let those evil ones bring us down. We've given them a good thrashing, we need to make sure they can't put themselves together, but now is the time to dream of better things, and push for real change....
DeleteSo Harper surface because of a horrific terrorist attack in Paris. He's probably one of those guys, who when he sees a serious car accident, he slows down to gawk. Nobody cares what he has to say and that includes the President of France, who like many international leaders thinks Harper is a hick. Thwap is so right!
ReplyDeletehi Pamela...yes Harper surfaced from whatever hole he has been hiding in. He just couldn't help himself. And I'm sure he had to bite his tongue to avoid using the words cultural barbaric practices. As I said above, I'm sure he thinks that he has been vindicated, when in fact he hasn't. If Hollande hadn't turned into such a raving chicken hawk to try to fend off the extreme right wingers, and bragged about military action so much, I wonder if an attack like that would have happened. Which I'm convinced had he not been defeated is what would have happened to us one day...
DeleteFrance has been colonizing in the middle East and north Africa for many, many years and has piled up a debt of anger there. And nothing is more ironic than to hear the president of the US going on about how such horrible actions are against US values. Has he forgotten about the illegal invasion of Iraq which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and counting. If they would all get out of the middle east the terrorism would stop. At least I heard one of the terrorists interviewed on TV and he said what he wanted was the US out of there.
ReplyDeletehi anon...you're absolutely right. The roots of all that is happening now go back to the colonial days, when the colonizers oppressed their subjects and created all kinds of countries with borders tailored only to their economic interests. And the French were one of the worst and most brutal colonizers of them all. We need to stop meddling in foreign lands, and let the people who live there settle their own problems, and determine their own destiny...
Deleteits almost like, who cares what these Post Media types, tweet. Tweeting is for twits and twats. You can't convey national policy in a few words. Of course you can ask stupid questions,.
ReplyDeleteTrudeau, didn't twee for 5 hrs. of course not. what was the point. this isn't about instant messaging, saying nothing. Its about getting information and then responding in a reasonable manner. Trudeau's statement after the news about Paris came out, was good. Measured, we need to look into this, no hasty comments. that is what I want from Canada's P.M.
Are we going to pull the jets out? of course he couldn't answer that. it takes a good look at the facts first. However, it is France's involvement in the middle east which is making them a target. I'd suggest if Canada gets out of the mess, we will be much less of a target.
the Paris attacks were "savage" all bombings of this sort are savage. War is savage. Did people really think ISIS was finished when they did their thing 8 months ago. .
They were sending a warning shot before the G-20 meeting and the climate change conference set for Paris. its sort of like a "hello, we're still here and we haven't forgotten you."
Many will argue this is a good reason to not admit Syrian refugees, to which I say, nuts. We need to remember these terrorists killed a lot of people, but drunk and distracted driving kills more. In the U.S.A. MORE are killed each yr in gun "accidents". We need to put all of this in perspective and continue our lives while be careful.
The news is reporting a security guard at the football stadium denied entry to one of the terrorists. That is how we stop them, by being aware. We have never been able to stop rape, murder, spousal abuse, but we have made head way in reducing these crimes. In my opinion we need to view terrorist activities in the same light and not get carried away.
I don't know if these "journalists" considered this an attack on Trudeau, and i'm not sure this was an attack on trudeau. It was more a display of their ignorance. They most likely didn't see Bambi, "if you dont' have anything to say, don't say any thing at all." These types of journalists can only make a living by acting in this manner, unprofessional, incapable, well at least in my opinion
hi e.a.f...the good and the bad thing about twitter is that you can put out a message in a matter of seconds, so they can be very revealing about what you think when your emotions are inflamed. And in that regard I find the Postmedia tweeters to have revealed that they can't wait to jump on Justin Trudeau, to please their bosses. I have noticed that some like Ivison are gently trying to correct their balance, but it has been noticed and we will remember...
Deletehttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/14/eiffel-tower-peace-sign-solidarity-paris-artwork
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/jean_jullien/status/665305363500011521/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Does anyone doubt if these Paris attacks had occurred on Oct. 16 or 17, Harper would have rolled out TV ads saying only he and his Harpercons can prevent something similar from happening in Canada.
ReplyDeletehi David...I don't doubt he would have done that and much more, and just thinking about it makes me shudder. We did dodge a bullet, and not by much...
DeleteNo surprise:
ReplyDeleteConservatives urge government not to halt anti-ISIS airstrikes
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/dion-paris-attacks-absolute-resolution-1.3319151
My understanding is many of the Syrian refugees coming to Canada have already had some security screening done as they are in UN-run camps, which includes mostly women and children.
ReplyDeleteOne pundit said on TV that this alone would indicate these refugees are legit. A mother's number one concern is to protect and care for her children.
hi anon...yes that's my understanding as well. They are being screened by skilled people, and many of them are indeed women and children. Canadians who fear them should remember that the refugees are fleeing the ravages of terrorist groups, so they are extremely unlikely to want anything but a new and peaceful life....
DeleteDean Skoreyko is a blogger for--wait for it-- Rebel Media.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.therebel.media/deanskoreyko
http://frankmag.ca/2014/04/blogshite-better-know-a-troll/
My perception is most far-right bloggers such as Dean Skoreyko post stuff but do not provide CONTEXT for what they say, and omit information--whether deliberately or not. If Dean is a Christian, then he is committing a "sin of omission". 8-)
hi David...Lordy what a loser. That Frank magazine story says it all. I avoid reading anything he writes, but I am not surprised that he is working for Levant's grotesque Rebel Media. He is where he belongs...
DeleteIf "Anonymous 9:55 AM" and a few others would refrain from using the F-bomb and other choice words, then I could send Simon's blog entries to more people who find use of profanity a turn off, and won't read anything on his blog.
ReplyDeleteA wider audience for Simon's blog is what everyone wants, right?
Worth repeating if you missed it near the top....
ReplyDeleteFull Show: The Lies That Lead to War
June 27, 2014
http://billmoyers.com/episode/the-truth-vs-dcs-propaganda-machine/
Full Show: Chaos in Iraq
June 20, 2014
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-chaos-in-iraq/?gclid=CPiw0Ji2or8CFZSEfgodCFwA7w
935 LIES
The Future Of Truth and the Decline of America's Moral Integrity
Charles Lewis
http://www.935lies.com/
https://twitter.com/hashtag/ParisAttacks
ReplyDelete"I was saved by my mobile phone"
https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/665658837748342784
hi anon...yes that's not a bad suggestion. I don't want to censure the way people express themselves but I don't use the F-word, so let's try to avoid it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi. Simon. Agree about the F bomb. You don't use it. I use it verbally but I Am well aware it adds nothing to the actual process
ReplyDeleteIt's your blog. You set the tone