Police State Canada 2010 and the Olympic Crackdown

In advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics, critics of the Games have been subjected to surveillance, harassment, along with other intimidation tactics. Voicing opposition to the Olympics appears to be all that is needed for one to be labeled as a security threat. There are concerns over the negative impacts associated with holding the Games, as well as concerted efforts to stifle anti-Olympic expression. As the Coca-Cola/RBC corporate torch relay nears its final destination, the opening ceremonies in Vancouver on February 12, 2010, more protests are expected. The Olympics are providing the perfect cover for many police state measures with ramifications that could leave a lasting legacy.

In a recent report, the Civil Liberties Advisory Committee (CLAC), an Olympic watchdog group issued a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring that rights and freedoms are respected during the Winter Games. The group strongly believes that protesters have a right to gather anywhere on public property, provided that they do not break the law. In regards to safe protest zones, CLAC favors that they be defined by painted lines on sidewalks or streets and not by fences or security barriers. This gives the perception that protesters are a threat. The watchdog group proposed that the Vancouver Police Department (VDP) be given the lead role in dealing with Olympic protests. This is due to concerns over mistrust of the RCMP in the province of BC as well as out of town police officers being, “unfamiliar with the groups and practices associated with peaceful protests here.” CLAC also recommended that, “the Integrated Security Unit issue a public assurance that plain-clothes police officers or other plain-clothes agents will not actively participate in protests during the Olympics.” There are fears that police could infiltrate anti-Olympic groups, in order to stage events which would justify a crackdown during the 2010 Winter Games. Read more.

Governor General of Canada

Jack Burton comments:

I have been watching the Order of Canada Investiture ceremony in
Ottawa on the TV. The Governor General presides over this ceremony -
recognizing prominent Canadians for outstanding citizenship. I have been meaning
To congratulate Mr. Harper for some time on the appointment of Michael
Jean to the position of Governor General. It is one appointment that he has
made that shows the highest level of taste, appreciation of beauty and
that he indeed has passion. Michael Jean is beautiful, intelligent and
a most gracious head of state. I'm proud of her.
She's worth the price.

Why Keep our British Ties

I will try to make the case for our British connection and why it should be enhanced not diminished. There are two branches of Western civilization. One emanates from the tradition of principle that followed King John’s signing of the Magna Charta at Runnymede in 1215 and the other is a tradition of pragmatism that is embodied by the reign of King Louis XIV of France. Basically these traditions boil down to “the means is the end” and “the end justifies the means”.


One of these philosophical traditions produced parliamentary democracy, free enterprise, equality before the law, the American Revolution and the enshrinement of Liberty of the individual. The other tradition produced totalitarian regimes that bankrupted and impoverished its people. The short term pragmatic view of the world enabled the horrors of the French revolution and its logical conclusion was the totalitarian dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte. Communism, Fascism and Socialism all flow from the pragmatic branch of philosophy.

After World War Two, Winston Churchill had hoped that the English speaking world, with all its traditions, would grow closer and perhaps even join in some sort of union. He hoped to form a bulwark of prosperity against the encroachment of a dangerous collectivist world. As things turned out the English speaking world did become a bulwark of prosperity and passed its traditions to former enemies such as Japan and Germany.

Canada benefits from our principled heritage and our success as a country depends on it. One only has to look at Argentina, a country with all the potential wealth of Canada, to see how a pragmatic tradition leads to a failed state.

I argue that Canada held more sway in the world as a Great Dominion within the British Empire than the pathetic Liberal pragma-state bestowed on us by Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Our greatest achievements as a nation came when we confidently believed we were part of a great civilization. The great railroads, the populating of the west, the RCMP, the war against intolerance in South Africa, the war against militarism in the Great War, the war against megalomania in World War Two and the war against collectivism in Korea were all achievements of a greater Canada.

We need an anchor that is based on ideas that protect our long-term interests. These concepts have nothing to do with race or creed. They work as well in India as they do in Canada.

The Liberal party (the party of pragmatism) has always tried to weaken our principled tradition. They know that it is impossible to dispense favouritism to their friends if the majority of people believe it is morally repugnant. They will always come out on the side of cultural equality, which would disarm anyone who holds to the exceptionalism of Western Civilization.

This is why I believe that our British connection is important. Our symbol has always been the Maple Leaf – long before the Pearson pennant appeared in 1965. The Red Ensign has three Maple Leaves on it and the RCAF has had the Maple Leaf on its wings since World War Two. The Liberals simply removed the Maple Leaf from its traditional home and aligned it with the uncertainty of multi-culturalism.

I fear for all of us if the Anglo-sphere fades away - as it appears to be doing. England is being subsumed into the multi-cultural soup of Europe and the United States is adopting statist policies that will only lead to ruin and decline. Canada, Australia and New Zealand have become inward looking self-debasers with no self-confidence. Ironically the only English speaking nation that is returning to western principles and benefiting is India – perhaps she will lead the way.

This is the face of the Enemy

If the West is to move forward again we must confront our true enemies and defeat their malignant hatred. Andrew Marr is our enemy.

Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain is a patronising and ignorant piece of history

Charles Moore reviews The Making of Modern Britain. Read more.

This email is circulating everywhere in Ontario

Hello Ontario,


This new RST/GST tax is not getting any coverage in the newspaper/television and I am not sure why. It is going to be the biggest tax increase in history. It's like no one wants to inform us of the facts. I have been investigating and I would like to share my findings.
The new tax will be administered by the Federal Government. It will be based on the GST, that means if the tax is currently collected on the Goods and Service Tax at 5% it is going to be increased to 13%, that sounds fine as Ontario's Provincial Retail Sales Tax is 8%. Add the two together and things seem fine.
One problem, Retail Sales Tax is not collected on everything that Goods and Services Tax is, the key word here is "Services". Retail Sales Tax is not collected on services. What is going to increase?
Here is a small list of services currently only taxed at 5% going up to 13%.
Natural Gas bill
Internet bill
Water bill
Gas at the pumps- That is like 7 cents per L., or, in English, 31 cents a gallon (that is a tax on top of a tax)
Hair cuts
Massage therapy & Condo Maintenance Fees !
Anything that requires labour around your house- plumber, electrician, painting, grass cutting ext.
Electricity bill- This is a good one. Look at your electricity bill there is a charge on it for debt retirement charge. That is a charge for the huge debt the OPC ran up. Only in Ontario would we pay tax on a debt, and only in Ontario would we increase this tax.
This is just a small list as there is so much much more.
Let talk about small business for a minute.
Mr. Mcguinty tells us in the budget that this new tax is going to save small businesses 500 million dollars. I do not know how much it costs to fill out a six line tax return monthly, but all small business owners I know do their own. If you are in business you will know about compensation on your Retail Sales Tax return. This is when you get to keep 5% of the tax collected up to $1,500.00 per year to help with your administration costs. That is gone once this tax is combined. Really it only helps large corporations with multiple vendor permit numbers, not small businesses.
Good news, I thought. There were two places where we were going to see an advantage to this tax. First there is no GST on used cars if bought privately and provincial tax on alcohol in between 10% to 12%. That is 2% to 4% higher than our normal Retail Sales Tax. Good old Mcguinty took care of that real quick. He is now saying to make it fair between used car lots, that he will collect the Retail Sales Tax on used cars still. Get ready for this one, he is going to add a levy on alcohol to promote social responsibility. This man is using the words social responsibility at the same time as he is raising our taxes, what he promised not to do.
Sending this could save you a lot of money over your lifetime.
Please forward it to everyone in your contact list.
Stand up Ontario and tell him we cannot afford any more Mcguinty politics. No new taxes.

Thought police could have a new tool soon!

Brain scanners can tell what you're thinking about
WHAT are you thinking about? Which memory are you reliving right now? You may think that only you can answer, but by combining brain scans with pattern-detection software, neuroscientists are prying open a window into the human mind. Read more.

Keep questioning and apply the method!

It seems there is still room for those with doubts. Read "Seven questions that keep physicists up at night"

National Archives displays 'present anti-British view of history'

This is the same mindset that will fight against progress on almost every front. If they perceive that individuals will benefit without enhanced state control - they will fight us.

The National Archives in Kew have been accused of presenting an "anti-British" view of history by presenting a display which describes the Empire as having been "profoundly oppressive" to its overseas subjects. Read more of this sad story.

What's the problem with a little logo when you're helping a child learn?

Should the corporate sector be involved in supporting childhood education? It seems that some are more fearful of company logos than improving our schooling system. Read more.

50 technological advances your children will laugh at

Things are really moving fast and I am not laughing yet.

Over the last 30 years the pace of technological change has increased so quickly that one decade’s must-have gadget becomes the next decade’s laughing stock. Read more.

Some East German jokes about communism.

From an Oct. 14 article by Hans-Ulrich Stoldt and Klaus Wiegrefe in Spiegel Online International's ongoing series "20 Years After the Wall":


Did East Germans originate from apes? Impossible. Apes could never have survived on just two bananas a year. Such jokes were whispered in communist East Germany—and West German spies recorded them diligently to gain insights into the public mood, according to recently released intelligence files.

"What would happen if the desert became communist? Nothing for a while, and then there would be a sand shortage." Jokes like that made the rounds among East Germans during the communist era, and West Germany's intelligence service would collect them, as a way to assess the public mood behind the Iron Curtain but also to amuse its masters in Bonn, the West German capital.

Here's another one: "Why does West Germany have a higher standard of living than we do? Because communists can't get work permits there." The ubiquitous Trabant or Trabi, East Germany's legendary plastic car with its clattering two-stroke engine, was a favorite butt of jokes as well. Like this one: "A new Trabi has been launched with two exhaust pipes—so you can use it as a wheelbarrow." . . .

East Germans weren't averse to secretly lampooning their political leaders, bureaucracy or the chronic supply shortages that plagued the country, even though it was risky for them.

U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors Blogs, Tweets

America’s spy agencies want to read your blog posts, keep track of your Twitter updates — even check out your book reviews on Amazon. Read more.

Reefer sanity

Finally something I can agree with the Obama Administration about:

In an act of merciful sanity, the Obama administration has made good on its promise to stop interfering with states that allow the medical use of marijuana. Read more.

New camera promises to capture your whole life

A camera you can wear as a pendant to record every moment of your life will soon be launched by a UK-based firm.

Originally invented to help jog the memories of people with Alzheimer's disease, it might one day be used by consumers to create "lifelogs" that archive their entire lives.

Read more.

Confessions of a Cultural Drop-out

I find myself thinking and acting the same way - but I guess that is the point of this piece.
Read it and think.

It always starts in the Balkans - Trouble in Bosnia again.

Bosnia 'on brink of new civil war'


Bosnia is heading for a new civil war as a constitutional crisis threatens to cause the collapse of the political system, the country's leaders have warned.

The concerns have been triggered by Bosnian Serb leaders who have stepped up their demands for independence with a warning the country is no longer "sustainable".

The growing ethnic divisions have raised fears of a return to the fighting which claimed the lives of up to 110,000 people between 1992 and 1995. Read more.

Brain-Dead Conservatives Obsessed with ‘Freedom’

Conservative arguments against President Obama are becoming increasingly silly. They oppose Obama rescuing businesses despite all the jobs on the line, they’re against government taking control of health care from soulless insurance companies, and they oppose increased taxes on energy consumption despite the sorry state of the environment. And why do they oppose these most sensible actions? Because of their irrational, brain-dead obsession with liberty. Read. entire story.

Self-Talk and Self-SabotageBy Steven Pressfield

Writing Wednesdays #12: Self-Talk and Self-SabotageBy Steven Pressfield

Published: October 14, 2009

If you’ve read The War of Art, you know that the thematic core of the book is the concept of Resistance. Resistance with a capital R, which the book defines as “an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.”

Resistance is what keeps an entrepreneur from making the cold calls he knows he has to, to get his business rolling. It’s the force that keeps an aspiring painter away from her studio, or makes a writer back off from the blank page. Resistance stops us from going to the gym, from meditating, from donating our time to a cause we believe in.

That’s what Resistance is. But how do we experience it? What form does it take? How does Resistance manifest itself in our lives?

Resistance comes as a voice in our heads

The voice tells us not to work today and it gives us a reason. Our daughter’s dance recital starts at seven; this headache is killing us; the boss wants us to organize the Penske file.

This is not self-talk, it’s self-sabotage.

The difference between self-talk and self-sabotage

Self-talk is positive. It’s the coach or best friend in our heads. Self-talk sounds like this:

“Okay, that’s enough screwing around … let’s go! Crank ‘er up, buddy.”

Self-talk is our #1 self psyching up our #2. In movie terms, it’s our producer kicking our writer’s butt. On the football field, it’s forty-five bouncing, helmet-banging maniacs gathering in a circle. shouting, “One, two, three … Dominate!”

Self-talk can be Gandhi, it can be Patton; it can be Julia Child. “A slice of blueberry cheesecake tonight if you finish Act Two.” Self-talk is the opposite of self-sabotage.

Self-talk is an act of the will

Self-talk is consciously generated. Its aim is to overcome inertia, to push through Resistance. Self-talk is an act of will. It costs effort. It hurts.

Self-talk is masculine in the sense that it’s the Act of Thrust seeking to generate a response from the fertile Creative Field.

That field is our lazy-ass selves. “Put down that bottle, turn off that TV, get your sorry butt into that studio.” Self-talk is the starter that gets our engine going.

A definition of sabotage

Sabotage comes from the French word “sabot,” which means wooden shoe. When industrialization began stealing jobs from workers in Europe, the factory hands used to take off their sabots and chuck them into the gears of the machinery.

Resistance is when we, as artists and entrepreneurs, throw our own shoes into our own machinery.

My personal rule of thumb

I hear the same voices in my head that you do. We all hear them. The trick to doing our work is to listen to the good voice and tell the bad voice to go to hell.

In my opinion, the bad voice isn’t even us. It fools us. Because we hear it in our heads, we mistake it for our own legitimate thought. But it’s not. That voice isn’t us. It’s Resistance.

Once we make that critical distinction, we cease being amateurs. We become professionals.

When we can hear the voice in our heads that’s trying to distract us, deter us, derail us, and recognize it as Resistance–then it loses its power over us. We can see through it. We’re not going to believe its bullshit.

What do we do? We dismiss it. We refuse to grant it legitimacy.

That doesn’t mean we don’t go to our daughter’s recital. Hey, we’re not robots. But when we go, we resolve to carve out an extra hour sometime tomorrow or the next day and save those sixty minutes for our work.

Now that’s self-talk.

The Danger of Environmentalism

Earth Day approaches, and with it a grave danger faces mankind. The danger is not from acid rain, global warming, smog, or the logging of rain forests, as environmentalists would have us believe. The danger to mankind is from environmentalism.

Greens against green energy

Environmentalists claim, with ever-increasing hysteria, that our consumption of carbon-based energy in pursuit of prosperity and economic growth is altering the earth’s climate. Human survival, they insist, requires the immediate abandonment of fossil fuels, which provide more than 80 percent of the world’s energy, in favor of carbon-free sources. Read more.