Freedom

"In the old days, [freedom] was something you used... [it] has now become something you save - something you put away and protect like your other possessions - like a deed or a bond in the bank."
- Archibald McLeish, Atlantic Monthly, August 1949

On our ongoing love affair with the Quick Fix

'Deep Brain Stimulation' tested at UBC as depression cure

I cannot tell you how appalling it is to see pharmaceuticals, lobotomies, electroshock treatments, and now this being sold as accepted remedies to depression. It is downright tragic to see this as a billion-dollar industry. I can tell you that, as a sufferer of anxiety and depression, and as a friend to other sufferers, these treatments do not work! Much like "getting tough" on crime or censoring curse words, these are band-aid solutions that fail to address the core of our suffering. The only way to properly address the root causes of mental and emotional duress is by talking to the patient! Of course, even dialogue comes with a price tag. A professional therapist will be happy to listen to your troubles and help you cope with them, so long as you pay her/him by the hour to do so.

Needless to say, I've had it the people trying to shove the industry down my throat as a means to "get well". Chemicals and electric shocks and other tricks of the trade will not help my situation. We may be mentally and emotionally unwell, but we are not the problem. We are by no means "abnormal", depsite society's best efforts to pigeon-hole and push pills upon us.

This world is sick, and will continue to get worse if we let the industry push its quick-fix solutions on us and shuffle us off to work.

Time is Money

October 24 declared "Take Back Your Time Day"

One particular excerpt stood out in my eyes:

The fourth consecutive year for the event, this year's theme is "Let's get back to the table" and focuses on the importance of spending time with family friends and community by gathering at the table — whether its the dinner, picnic or card table.

Children who eat dinner with their families do better at school while gathering with friends and families decreases feelings of isolation and community meetings help foster democracy, says the movement.

Too many people are eating fast-food takeout alone in their vehicles and sending text-messages to friends and colleagues, it says.

"Coming together with others brings us feelings of security, belonging, and self respect. We feel more cared for and we become more caring. And maybe we even have more wisdom".

As much as I enjoyed finding this piece buried deep within the CBC's repository of fluff, here is why this recognition is unlikely to catch on:

Isolationism is far too lucrative to disappear. If I can sell you enough product to hole yourself up in your room for hours on end, by no means do I want to see you vacate your manufactured sanctuary to run along and play with your friends. The more detached you are from living organisms - and I mean ALL living organisms, including those who are now your food - the more you need to consume to fill this gaping void in your life. Let's face it: you'd rather see what's on television than hear how your spouse's day went, and as long as this want exists, you're going to slave away at my outfit for the majority of your waking life, away from your loved ones, making me more and more and more.

And, after you've digested all of that, see how Bombardier is giving time back to 1,330 of its staff and then some, proving once again that, in the land of "freedom", you are free to choose between corporate serfdom or nothing at all.

From the good folk who brought you the likes of Bugs Bunny...

Some of you will be offended. All of you will know why.

Read Yolanda Carrington's critique afterwards.

The "Second" Coming

I hear Jesus is coming back. It would make sense that he returned during our time... after all, it was in an age of decadence - much like this one - in which he spoke out in the name of peace and good will.

I'm inclined to believe that every generation has had at least one version of Jesus, and every time, we've either killed him, sent him off to the funny farm, or broke him down and assimilated him. He didn't necessarily have to be a "he", either, but the result was the same.

Subliminal Tyranny

...a redundant statement, as, over time, tyranny always seems to have been brought forth subliminally.

This evening, while watching game shows on American television, I was reminded, thanks to my acute inkling to channel-surf during the commercial, that on this day, America became a nation of three hundred million souls. I wonder how many of these three hundred million have or will ever appear on television.

On the same day, their "President" signed into legislation a law permitting and encouraging the use of torture as a means to extract information from would-be "terrorists", despite the ruling of his own "Supreme" court.
The international laws of the "Geneva conventions" told him "no".

How many nations, can you recall, have said "fuck you" to international law?

... "What? 'Dictatorship', you say?" ...

Of course, you don't believe me,
because they have you.
They have all of us.
They tell us what's "normal".
They tell us what "works".
They tell us how to be "successful".
They tell us they know what "God" wants from us.

God?

They tell me Man was made in the image of God.
It seems to me "God" was made in the image of man.

Is it any wonder?

Tension between Fatah and Hamas

You tell everyone you want them to have democracy.
This is what they're doing with democracy.
Those whom you call "terrorists"
are the only line of defence
the only voice loud enough to be heard.

They're no different than us.
They have their controlling element.
Like us, they also have a vast majority of
opposition to war.

The third pillar of Islam
commands the preservation of life.
Christ held this to be true.

The fourth pillar of Islam
commands the purification of self through fasting.
Christ held this to be true.

The fifth pillar of Islam
commands the able-bodied to journey at least once to Makkah (Mecca).
Isn't this why we have the Holy Land?
The Vatican?
Jesus didn't live in Rome.
Why is there a holy land there?

The truths about war:
Righties hate Righties,
Righties fear everyone else,
Righties kill Righties,
and a whole lotta Lefties.
Lefties just want life.

Don't let the patriarchy win.

Joy to the World

Stephen Harper gave Canada's rural lumber-producing communities an early Christmas gift this year. Find out more here.

The History of Patriotism

Hover your cursor over the image, click, then read.

Statehood

Yes, I'm picking on Israel again, and if it isn't already clear, when I pick on states, I pick on the states themselves, the governments, not the people who have to live under their rule. It is a shame that the proletariat of Israel is subjected to so much fearmongering that they end up so consumed by right-wing nationalism. The same can be said of the people caught on the other side of this bloody series of wars.

That being said, on to today's reading:

Israel accused of using 'Dime' bombs

Foreign ministry slams envoy's comments about 'yellow race'

And the winner is...

The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh

Let this be a lesson to our society: the poor cannot do it alone.

And the nominees are...

The Nobel Peace Prize Short List

I have two problems with this list:

John Bolton and "peace" should not be juxtaposed. He sits at the United Nations as a representative of Western neoliberal imperialism, not as a peacemaker.

Bono and Bob Geldof succeeded in grandstanding, nothing more. Perhaps, if they possessed genuine concern over the plight of Africans, they would have educated themselves on this "piece of history" they were promoting, an agreement that will do nothing but perpetuate the rape of the poorest nations on the planet.

More on "Accountability" in the Maher Arar case

On behalf of all Canadian tax-payers who are deliberately kept in the dark, I want to send my sincere apologies to Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nurredin for our government allowing this suffering to be brought to you. I know a string of words cannot undo the horrors you experienced, but I'm hopeful that, if we, as Canadians, accept our responsibility and become aware of what our government is doing, we can begin the healing process.

It's Raining Death

Iraq war deaths 'top 650,000'

Of course, America and its puppet government in Iraq are refuting the results of this study, claiming them to be "exaggerated", "not credible" and a political ploy.

Riddle me this: how can this government make such an assertion when its military openly admitted to not doing body counts?

This is how much value our lives have in the eyes of these governments.

Beyond "Good" and "Evil"

This week, we were once again witness to the great double-standard that is global politics. We were reminded which side was "good" and which side "evil". We were told that it's okay for the forces of "good" to have stockpiles of nuclear warheads, but this "evil" regime cannot have a single one.

First of all, no nation on Earth should be in possession of any nuclear weapons, period. We didn't learn our lesson from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and now, we're all in a world of shit for it. This nuclear test conducted by the North Korean military is a result of sixty-plus years of irresponsibility demonstrated by the international community. The fact that the five most heavily-armed nations in the world have permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council speaks volumes about our "progress".

That being said, we need to be careful before we succumb to the will of our "leaders" and begin beating our war drums. If there is a solution to Kim Jong-Il's reckless behaviour, war is not it. There are over seventy million people currently living on the Korean peninsula who have had to deal with the mess caused by the world's superpowers over the years. Millions of families were torn apart because opposing ideologues split the region in two and installed a capitalist and communist dictator on either side. These people deserve better than to have their lives dicked around by the elite while being fed a steady stream of lies.

We, as common, compassionate people, deserve better.

Made in Canada

Are you wondering why Stephen Harper feels the standards set forth by the Kyoto protocol are unrealistic? How about what his "Made in Canada" solution will include? You'll find the answers to these questions in The Tyee, a publication not afraid of losing corporate sponsorship by telling the people what's up the government's sleeve.

Keeping in the spirit of planetary destruction, have a peek at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. If you poke around a little, you will learn how that lush forest at the top of the main page is turning into what you see at the top of this blog.

I wonder if I'll ever cease being ashamed to be a human being.

Being Thankful

Global Television told me yesterday to give thanks to our men and women in Afghanistan for protecting us from those awful terrorists. You can read about how things are going over there in The Tyee.

I'm gonna do Global one better:

Today, on the day that we pause for reflection and give "thanks" before gorging ourselves stupid and disposing of the leftovers, I wish to make it known that I am thankful for being born into white privilege. I'm thankful to be on the winning side of the wanton slaughter of the people indigenous to this land. I'm thankful to be on the side who pays top dollar for the products people in the "third world" make for pennies an hour. I'm thankful to be the one sucking down the gas for which our men and women in uniform are fighting. I'm thankful to be that clean-cut white face the cop doesn't hassle.

God smiled upon me and placed me on the winning team!

Why We're in Afghanistan

Murray Dobbin tells us in the Tyee...

...and it's about time.

Beware the Thief!

I found a letter in our mailbox yesterday morning. It reads as follows:

I want to advise the neighbourhood that one of the residents of (address here) has been caught breaking into vehicles continually on our street as well as other surrounding neighbourhoods. He has broken into my vehicle three times and my neighbour's car over 5 times! He has become a menace to our streets so much that the police have actually set up a program where teams of officers in the area drive around looking for this guy as well as a few others known in the area. Keep an eye out for a white male in his late 30s or early 40s, approximately 5'8" to 5'10", with very small shoulders and usually a very dirty appearance, dark hair, medium length. The first time he broke into my vehicle he stole my daughter's knapsack with her school books in it. He will take anything from your car - so please keep all valuables out of your car or at least out of plain view. He will steal whatever he can, even CDs and sell them for money. He is presumed to be a crack addict stealing to support his habits. Our neighbourhood is full of nice families and yet is being tainted by guys like this. We should all do what we can to force these guys out of our area! I will attempt to contact the owner of this property and plead to have this guy evicted. However if you can help by finding some time to call as well, I'm sure this would make it a quicker process. I cannot give the telephone number out, however the number can be found doing a simple internet search of the property. I hope this helps to stop this guy, and save some of you any inconvenience in the future. Help keep our streets clean and safe!

Sincerely, a concerned neighbour.

To this concerned neighbour, I say your heart may be in the right place, but before you attack, let's think about this a little more so that we achieve a solution benefiting all.

This letter does a wonderful job of summing up the mindset our our society: dehumanize the "rogue" elements, sweep the problems under the rug, out of sight and out of mind, and the "nice families" can return to their pristine lives of production and consumption. What these residents are (deliberately) not told is that, much like overloading a closet with clutter to save time and effort on cleaning your room, these problems don't disappear simply by banishing this person from the community.

If you simply throw him out of his home, he'll only do the same to another neighbourhood, and another, and another. The police will throw him in a cell for a year, then turn him loose again on society, all the while being left to his own devices in a contained state of nature, as Hobbes described it. Distributing this leaflet alone will likely sooner give rise to vigilante action before anyone has the chance to formulate something remotely rational. Our problem now will be someone else's problem later if the problem isn't properly addressed.

By consuming crack, this man is fulfilling a need. This need is fostered by money. All other concerns are completely out the window. His intent is not to do anyone any physical or emotional harm; your easily accessible possessions suffice, as they are of much better use to him than your lives. If you are serious about this problem, don’t expect the police or an eviction notice to rectify the situation. This man has a mental health affliction. My course of action would be to consult a party who has experience dealing with this sort of people (the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health is an example). If you want, you could organize a group to show up at his doorstep and confront him about how his behaviour is affecting the community – an “intervention”, if you will. That’s just my opinion; take it for what you feel it is worth.

If this individual is as addicted to crack as our concerned neighbour presume him to be, then he is sick and in need of our help. Let's avoid making him someone else's problem, or, worse, fanning the flames of our own.

p.s. I'll save the socio-economic history of crack cocaine for another discussion.

Role Model

Dare I say anything?