Tag Archives: United States

Trudeaus x2, The Charter, and Notwithstanding Chrétien

Posted by Nukes of Knowledge on

It’s small details like the disrespect of our flag that weaken our society and allow cowards and crooks to run things.

Respect for the flag is symbolic of respect for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms we are SUPPOSED to have.

I made this exact comment to the New Glasgow Police during my filing of complaints about their false arrest of me. I made a deliberate comment to the officer taking the paperwork that it’s disrespectful to have a dirty tattered flag infront of the police station. I’ve referred to corrupt officers in our town wearing that same flag and tarnishing it with their horsecockery and lack of ethics.

Same concept. Disrespect for the flag by people in charge of shaping society and running it demonstrates a lack of understanding and respect for the underlying values we are supposed to have.

Not saying Canada/church didn’t wreck indigenous families or do other horrible shit. What I’m saying is that in our country we have the ability to stand there and protest and hold politicians accountable in ways that aren’t possible in lots of places. THAT is one reason this matters.

Most corruption in our country and community is simply buried in beauracracy. Too much paperwork and cost to get the truth out.

If we had teachers and police and lawyers and social workers and doctors that truly understood what our rights are – the tattered flags wouldn’t need reminders. This is basic elementary school social studies.

That flag wasn’t made at the founding of the country so it’s not symbolic of the colonial torture. Flag was designed and agreed upon by Canadians in the 60s. Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms was established in the 80s.

The flag is symbolic in our shift toward better values. Doesn’t make up for 60s scoop or residential schools or the forced sterilizations or forced covid vaccinations or the invocation of the Emergencies Act by little-Castro… come to think of it, the Trudeaus did all of the short list above.

Papa Pierre was the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. He also briefly served as the leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1980.

Look up “The Kitchen Accord”. That involves a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. That PM was Jean Cretien. Cretien is responsible for the notwithstanding clause. One of my conspiracy theories is that Elder Trudeau actually so wanted the notwithstanding clause but couldn’t support it publicly.

In a nutshell – some Charter rights are subject to the notwithstanding clause (section 33).

Between when the flag was made and the Charter was made law there were 17 years, of that time Papa Trudeau was PM for 11 years.

Between when the charter was codified into law and now we are looking at 40 years.

In that time-frame, the PM was either a Trudeau or a Chretien for 19 of the 40 years since the Charter was made law.

That means the same small group of insiders gave us the illusion of rights with a caveat they can make up reasons to strip you of them.

Our flag was made before our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Charter is there to protect us but the same family / clubs in power now in Canada set things up this way. As long as they have ‘zee papers’ filled out properly, they can do anything they want. It doesn’t matter if the judge or politician approving the override of your rights just came out of a closed door meeting with the person asking them to do so (re: conduct of PM Trudeau 2 in regard to Jodi Wilson Raybould and SNC Lavalin / deferred prosecution).

It’s all fugazi.

TLDR: Anyone who disagrees with OP better come back with a valid criticism of the government instead of a lazy empty response like “It’s just a piece of fabric!!!”.

Someone commented with a photo of the Nova Scotian flag – solid. Agree. Great counter, even if sarcastic. Valid point. Our government is fugazi and our rights are pretend. Our current flag represents the rights we had before the Trudeaus and their old boys club gave us the illusion of more rights with a caveat they can disappear them when they feel like it.

Oppression is done in our country through slow painful expensive beauracracy.

Better have another “commission” or “committee”.

Swine.

Oblivious in Dubai: Part 1

Posted by Nukes of Knowledge on

There I was.

Nineteen, tanned, clean-shaven; business casual.

Standing in the hallway of the top floor of a strange hotel, just after midnight in Dubai; pushing the elevator button relentlessly in an effort to speed up my not-so-swift retreat.

Flight to Kandahar in seven and a half short hours. There wouldn’t be another flight for a few days; I can’t miss it.

There she was.  All 80 enraged pounds of her.

The geriatric mama-san that was screaming at me, almost inaudibly, in angry Mandarin.

How the hell did I end up here?

_______________________________________

ABOUT AN HOUR EARLIER

Just finished my shower and gotten cleaned after the 30 or so hours of flights and layovers I’d just put behind me.

I was hungry.  Looking off of the balcony of my 6th floor suite; that familiar vision of a Burger King sign peeked between the buildings and across the parking lot.  Only eight hours or so until my flight; plenty of time to fill my belly.  Not like I was going to get much sleep anyway.

Jet-lagged but up for some exploration.

I finish my chicken sandwiches on the second floor of the nicest Burger King I’d ever seen. Head downstairs and outside to the patio for a smoke.

There she was.

Crossing the six lane road, roaring with midnight traffic; two beautiful, petite, and well dressed Asian ladies walking with two imposing looking Caucasian fellows.

Puff… Puff… pretty girls I thought; lucky fellows.

They get to the corner I’m standing on; the two fellows and one of the girls cross the road.

The other girl walks up to me.

“Hey there,” she says as she touches my back, “you want massage?”

This should have been clue number one.

“Of course I ‘want massage’!  My hotel is just over there...”  I point.

“No, no.  You come to my hotel.”

So I put my arm around this strange petite woman and follow her across a parking lot, between some buildings, down an alley, and into a parking garage.

It’s probably also relevant to mention that when you fly across the ocean on most major airlines – the beer is free.  So I had that going for me.

Along the way we talked.  She told me she was from China.  I told her I was here for the night on business, catching a plane in the morning.

She says, “What country you go to?”

To which I replied, “Afghanistan” matter of factly.

“Oh yes, Afghanistan very nice.”

In hindsight, this should have been clue number two.

She also said a number of other things while we walked and talked, things like:

  • “Two hundred US, two hundred US.”
  • “You work you work, you come you come.”
  • “Come for massage, my hotel.”

This should have been clue number three.

She pushes the button for the elevator.  Hits the button for the top floor.

Elevator goes up; door opens.  I see three doors in a tiny, dimly lit hallway; two clotheslines strung across it.

She approaches the door on the right.

HER:  Knock, knock, knock

NOT HER:  Knock, knock

HER:  Knock

In hindsight, the secret knock should have been clue number four.

I’m led in to a room with five sliding doors; all of them open except one.

From behind the closed door:

  • Grunting
  • Bed squeaking rhythmically

Oh.  Fuck.  Now I get it.

I did what any 19 year old man would do in the same situation.  I let the geriatric mama-san lead me into one of the open doors.  Inside, there’s a single bed, clean sheets, a night stand, tissues and a garbage can.

She leaves.

Fuck.  Now I really get it.

So the “masseuse” comes in and I take out my wallet, I’ve got 20 US and a bit of local currency – nowhere close to the 200 in US green-backs that she’s expecting.

What followed was lots of screaming, hand waving, finger waving, finger pointing, more yelling and what I’m sure was a less-than-positive glare – all this from the senior citizen.

There had to be muscle there.  Had to be.  I was expecting to get throat-punched by someone who was trained in the ancient art of the throat-punch.

I ran out while buttoning my shirt screaming, “ohfuckohfucksorryimsorryfuckimsorryohfuckohfuck,” over and over again.  I barrelled past the mama-san, ran under the clotheslines and poked that elevator call button over and over and over again.

________________

That's where it all happened.

That’s where it all started.

Part Two —>

_______________________________

Complaining about Keystone XL is Stupid and Here is Why

Posted by Nukes of Knowledge on

What is the Keystone Pipeline Project?

  • A project proposed by TransCanada Corporation in 2005.
  • A pipeline from Northern Alberta to transport synthetic crude and bitumen to refineries in the United States.
  • Consisting of four phases, oil was to be transported to a number of locations, the southernmost being in Houston, Texas
  • Phase 1 and 2 have been completed and are already operational.
  • Phase 1 goes from Northern Alberta, across Saskatchewan and Manitoba, down into North and then South Dakota, through Nebraska, taking an Eastern turn at Steele City.  Phase 1 continues on across Kansas and Missouri, and stopping in Wood River and Patoka, Illinois.
  • Phase 2 branches off from Steele City, southward, to Cushing, Oklahoma.
  • Phase 3 was planned to begin at Cushing and move southward to Port Arthur and Houston, Texas.
  • Phase 4 was planned to run straight from Alberta, southeast through Baker Montana, through South Dakota and Nebraska and into Steele City.

Why opposition to the project is bullshit:

Most of the work is already done.  What’s left is getting the raw product to the refineries in Texas.  This stuff must go to a refinery somewhere before it is any bit useful.  The path of least resistance is an almost completely straight pipeline to Texas.

More importantly, it’s relatively safe.  We transport all kinds of awful and hazardous fucking things all over the world all the time (oil, petro-chemicals, Justin Bieber albums, etc.).  We transport by rail, by road and by boat – 24/7/365.  We never hear about it because there is virtually never a spill.  When the opposition to these projects gets all up in arms, they cite examples of the few times these kinds of transports go wrong.

What will Canada do?

  • If the US keeps throwing up roadblocks, we will simply negotiate a deal with China and sell our oil there.  This seems like a waste of the infrastructure that’s already in place.  The American-hubris is strong.  We don’t need you, but you do need vast amounts of oil.
  • In my opinion; crossing the ocean with oil in a ship is far riskier, environmentally speaking, than a pipeline to Texas.  As I stated earlier, the environmentalists are just too stoned to make the connection.

What effect will selling oil to China instead of the US have on trade relations between us?

  • The average person can’t fathom the dollar figures that the oil industry deals with daily.  It’s an understatement to say that oil trade is huge money.  It’s so huge that we don’t have a word to describe how huge it is or how much money we’re talking about.
  • Considering that we have some of the largest oil reserves in the world (3rd largest in the world), the US has the opportunity to buy from a country that they get along with, that is close by, and that shares a common British/European ancestry.  The logistical processes are already in place (most of the pipeline is already built).  The environmental impact is lessened because the oil isn’t being shipped by boat, rail, or truck (a pipeline can’t sink, de-rail, or crash).

Or you know… we could follow the example set by the European Union (most specifically Germany) and spend some of that unfathomable amount of dirty oil money on solar energy infrastructure.

The amount of money spent on wars and on advertising silly products in the past decade could have solved world hunger and at least provided every North American with free renewable energy.

Never mind.

For this to work it would need to be mandated by government – which would require the following:

  • a population that desires it
  • elected officials that actually listen to their constituents
  • proper and fair allocation of resources (natural, capital, land and manpower) to benefit us all

It’s a shame that 78% of Americans polled desire an increased focus on solar energy (http://www.gallup.com/poll/161519/americans-emphasis-solar-wind-natural-gas.aspx) yet our two countries (Canada and the US) have been trying to get this Keystone shit to work since 2005.  What is the opportunity cost of the time spent lobbying, the travel expenses, meetings, summits and other lip-service related activities to make/stop this project.

The technology exists to make our inhabiting of this planet sustainable; yet we spent eight years trying to negotiate and plan a project that doesn’t help us get to where we need to be as a species in 2050, 2100 or 2500.  In my humble opinion, the problem resides in a few key factors detailed below.  Some of these factors contribute to more than one global flub:

  • Undervaluing education (and not investing heavily in it)
  • Allowing individual states to determine their own curriculum (under-educated parents voting on what “facts” their children should be taught doesn’t work – get over it Kentucky)
  • Development of national standards of education with an emphasis on verbal communication/English, Math, Biology/Life-Science, the Economy, Managing Personal Finances, Ethics, Chemistry and the Cosmos
  • Lack of scientists, professors, researchers and other academics holding elected office at all levels of government
  • Abundance of empty suits in Washington that pay lip service to their constituents while simultaneously getting a gentle hand-jibber from any of a large number of corporate interests that lobby Washington

Education is key to the door handle, but you also need to release the dead-bolt.  The dead-bolt for the Gen-Y and Millenials is motivation.

If the under-educated parents in small town Kentucky force the local schools to teach that evolution is wrong – the student’s entire understanding of life science and how the world works completely falls apart.  Do we really want a generation of these young crusaders for Christ to get into office and control the decisions that affect us all?

As a society in the early years of the 21st century – we have choices to make and actions to take.

What alternative choices could Western society have made between 1900 and 1914 that would have made life better/easier/healthier/more efficient/more peaceful or generally more positive today?

We need to think about our impact on future generations.

Will the children of 2500 view us as incredible innovators or incredible imbeciles?

_____________________________

Keystone XL is already there.  The car is already built.  It just needs the doors screwed on.

Bite the bullet on this project, let it happen.  There’s no way it can be as awful as the pollution in the Pacific from Fukushima or the oil in the Gulf of Mexico from the BP spill.

Viva la revolution.

The Pursuit of Truth in a World of Endless Information

Posted by Nukes of Knowledge on

“This man, on one hand, believes that he knows something, while not knowing. On the other hand, I – equally ignorant – do not believe that I know anything.”
-Apology (Plato)

By: Big Think
Featuring: Bill Nye

It’s important to criticize ideas and to hold all ideas up to an open discussion; not to prove or disprove those ideas but simply to open minds to the fact that none of us know anything for sure and what we think we know must always be updated with new information.

Education and knowledge are fundamental and have been vital to the success of the human species.  That is where the money needs to go; creating informed, educated and intelligent citizens and voters.

There’s a big difference between criticizing an idea and criticizing a person. Religion is an idea, it’s a thought process, it’s a way of thought and an explanation for some people. Someone believing an idea is true without any evidence is a choice they are free to make, despite the illogicality of it.

Personally criticizing someones un-willingness to entertain the thought they might be wrong is necessary and important.

Any criticism that comes from me about religion is about the idea of it from an objective point of view.

A couple of those objective observations would be that:

  • Religions (and all belief systems) have played a vital role in the development of our societies and our species. Both causing harmony and causing war and division. Fostering community, fostering fellowship, promoting togetherness.
  • There are good and bad things in the world; but it’s not black and white. Citing divine inspiration or religion as a moral yard stick is flawed simply because of the example set by the very people in the upper echelon of those groups. It’s never black and white yet all theistic faiths make it black and white.
  • The only moral yard stick we really need that holds true across almost all cultures and belief systems is to “do unto others as you would have them do to you”.

I believe that people should be allowed to do as they wish, provided it doesn’t harm anyone else or their ability to do as they wish. Government shouldn’t be involved in peoples personal lives.

There needs to be a separation of belief systems (a personal choice that is a reflection of the freedom we have here) and decisions made by government that affect everyone (abortion, gay marriage, pot prohibition, euthanasia and tax exemption for churches – to name a few).

I’m only militant about this stuff because societies status quo has it backwards and changes need to be made regarding how we prioritize things. Based on what I know so far, (keeping in mind that my opinion is fluid and always subject to change with the presentation of new data) most of the bad things that have happened regarding personal liberty have been a result of religious people.

For example: 9/11, The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition, protesting Gay Marriage, anti-abortion attitudes, being against publicly funded birth control, most of the shit going on in the Middle East, the US not taking action on climate change, the US teaching creationism in schools as fact – to name a few.

I’ll basically shut up whenever decisions are made objectively regarding stuff that affects us all. Canada is pretty accepting of secularism and the non-religious; but it’s a global issue. We’re attached at the hip to the US and in essence the rest of the world. If the next generation believes in a magic sky fairy that watches everything we do and personally cares about YOU, we’re all fucked.

Think globally; act locally.

One might say, “We’ve had religion for thousands of years, why is it such a big deal now?”

I’m so glad you asked!  It’s such a big deal now because the Roman Empire didn’t have Nuclear Weapons.  Genghis Khan didn’t have M16s, tanks, or artillery.

If the next generation in America grows up believing that they are are right because they believe in a Christian God and that everyone who doesn’t is wrong; it’s an automatic, unquestionable US vs. THEM situation.  One side will never truly trust the other and they will never truly get along.

Add to that the fact that 48% of American Christians believe as fact that Jesus Christ will return to earth in the next 40 years.  (Citation:  Pew Research Center: http://www.pewforum.org/2013/03/26/us-christians-views-on-the-return-of-christ/)

Think about that.

Just think about it.

Keep thinking for another moment.

….

….

….

They believe this as undisputed literal FACT.

What we have now is half of a generation of Americans born after 2000 A.D. that:

  • Have access to nuclear weapons
  • Fundamentally believe that they are superior in morality and value versus anyone who disagrees with them
  • Have access to every piece of knowledge known to humanity (but choose to ignore it)
  • Believe that natural disasters happen because gays have basic human rights
  • Believe that we have absolutely no control over our destiny because it is all pre-ordained

Evolution is a beautiful thing.  To disregard evolution is to disregard all of our monumental achievements as a species – dishonoring our ancestors, their ancestors, and their ancestors ancestors.

Tens of thousands of years of intellectual growth; learning for ourselves, being curious, inventing tools, improving the tools we’ve built, building incredible buildings like the Pyramids, advancing our architecture by trial and error, math, biology, chemistry, archaeology  – to disregard all of that evidence is absurd.

The unfortunate reality is many Christians think it’s all hog wash.

Anyone who thinks my attitude is offensive or too much should watch that video and think on it for a bit. Our species is at a point now where we have all of these amazing tools and can truly do anything.

We have the sum total of the worlds information available 24/7 in an instant on a portable device we carry in our pocket at all times.

Fucking act like it.