terrible mistake

Tags

Canada., Helsinki, NATO, Putin, Russia, Trump, UK

The Summit in Helsinki, Finland was a great victory for President Putin of Russia. Donald Trump made several mistakes which destroyed American Foreign Policy, weakened your credibility in the world and increase the influence of Russia.

It all went to hell at the NATO summit where Trump insulted his allies and then made demands because he views himself as the ruler of the world. The contribution of the USA to NATO is 67% but all other countries also contribute annually not only in money but in equipment and personnel, often far more than the USA.  Each contribution is not a due to the USA but to the organization as a whole. No one will increase its annual contribution to 4% as demanded by Trump, not even the USA will do that, total bluster with no substance. As for the contribution of 2% it is a goal for 2021 not today.

The trip to the UK was a total disaster, PM May must have wondered why she invited Trump who insulted her publicly, called her incompetent, suggested she sue the EU to get her way, that cannot be done, simple which tribunal would have jurisdiction to hear such a lawsuit. The EU like the UN is a club and each member must live by the agreement of membership. There is no one to be sued. Trump called for PM May to be replaced by the awful populist and incompetent Boris Johnson former Foreign Secretary who by supporting Brexit with lies has done Britain a grave disservice. Trump then went so far as to threaten PM May by saying that the USA would not sign Trade deals with Britain if they did not leave the EU. You do that to an old ally? Well Trump did it to Canada.

Then the incident with HM Queen Elizabeth II, Trump was 12 minutes late, an inexcusable delay when you are a guest and you make your host wait for no apparent reason. This was a provocation engineered by Trump to show that he was the great one. Having worked on such visits myself, I know that it is impossible to be late unless it was decided to be late. Then by standing in front of HM the Queen while she was escorting him at a review of the guard, Trump knew the Protocol, it had been explained to him, but he thought he could disregard it as he had in the past by pushing and shoving other Heads of State at international meeting because he believes he is more important. This lack of common decency and courtesy is what the World sees, this is what America looks like, this goes well beyond one man, he is the President of the USA and his behaviour is beyond reprehensible.

Helsinki was a terrible mistake, by agreeing to a one on one meeting with President Putin, Trump failed to realize that the Russians recorded the meeting and will use what ever he said at that meeting in the future against him as a bargaining chip. This is the oldest trick in the book of diplomacy, you never meet one on one, you always have others with you to take notes, its diplomacy 101. Trump cannot remember what he says and blabs uncontrollably, in all likelyhood he told Putin things he heard at the NATO summit or in conversation with other allies, not understanding that Putin the old spy master made a note of it all.

Putin got an incredible gift at this meeting, after 18 years of hard work, he got the President of the USA to declare that the world would be governed by the two great powers Russia and USA. Even in 1945 the world was divided between UK, France, USA, USSR. China is surely a greater economic power than Russia whose GDP is smaller than Canada. Trump said that there could be a good dialogue and understanding like in the days of the Cold War (1946-1989). I do not remember any such cooperation during those years, it was in fact a deadly game and enormous rivalry with the USSR (Russia). In 1962 a year Trump is old enough to remember, the world stood on the brink of complete nuclear war with the Cuban missile crisis provoked by the USSR.

Trump also said that he believed Putin instead of his own Intelligence agency, this declaration is an act of treason, Trump sided with the real existential threat to the USA and the Western World, Russia. Russia is not our friend and never was, the principle of the Rule of Law, Democracy and Free Elections are foreign concept for the Russians. The unlawful occupation of Crimea, and the aggression in the Donbass and Georgia, the full military support for the Assad Regime in Syria, and meddling in other parts of the World should tell us that Trump is wrong in supporting tyrants like Putin.

Trump now has sent a clear message to the allies of the USA that America cannot be trusted. It is impossible to know if America would come to the help of fellow NATO members in case of Russian aggression in the Baltic States or elsewhere in Europe. This is very dangerous for the peace of the world.

What we see now is that the famous talked about check and balances of the American system simply do not work, you have a rogue President who is not respecting the US Constitution he swore to uphold. The USA today is on a downward slide not only in prestige but in influence around the world. China and Russia are ascending and States like North Korea are profiting from this confusing lack of direction at the White House.

Will the November Elections change anything in the USA, its a gamble but like all gamble the results may be less than satisfactory, no one should bet on how the American public will vote.

From the New York Daily News 17 July 2018.

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150, art., bears, butt plug, Canada., Confederation, Cree, daddies, First Nations, Indigenous, native, PEI, sex toy

For the last few years I have been working as a volunteer guide in our National Museums. This Summer despite my campaign for Public Office as City Councillor in Ward 1, Charlottetown I am back at the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre. This Summer we have the exhibit of Canadian artist of the Cree First Nation, Kent Monkman.

Shame and Prejudice a play on the title of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. The exhibit which is over 3 rooms is large and complex and full of very controversial material some with explicit sexual content of a homoerotic nature and S&M depictions, none of it is gratuitous, all speaks directly to the experience of the indigenous population of Canada at the hands of white British colonial Officials and later the Federal Government of Canada and its policies of assimilation through incarceration, starvation, violence, residential schools, sexual abuse of children, murder and disappearance of native women, reservations, etc.

Needless to say some of our visitors to the Art Gallery have a difficult time of it and are offended that the memory of the 150th Anniversary of Confederation is not celebrated by the native population as a great project to civilize them into the mainstream. The comments are acid and mean, some deny anything wrong took place and place the blame on what they see as liberal thinkers and other miscreants who seek to destroy official history and attack Western culture. Some visitors find the art work inappropriate for families, we do have signs warning of the subject matter posted throughout. Others accuse Monkman of being a homosexual pervert pushing Indian propaganda for money.

One of the great difficulty for visitors who are non-native is to understand the culture and way of thinking of a First Nation person and how Native Culture and life is completely different in its terms of reference if seen from a White European perspective.

One early concept natives had to deal with was the idea that you could sell or buy land. Politicians promoted this idea as a way to solve claims to large portion of territory by simply offering token prices to native groups in return for their surrender of all the lands where they lived. Once dispossessed native groups could be easily exiled to remote reserves. The concept is completely foreign to native people, how can you sell or buy land, it is like saying you can sell or buy clouds or the air we breathe. The Government of Canada and the Prime Minister of the time did not even consider that native people might not be able to accept or understand such a concept. The policies of the government was to make of them little children in need of the civilizing influence of white people, in other words natives faced cultural genocide. As a French speaking Canadian, I can understand this type of discrimination and racist policy, though Canada has two Official languages, we were told to speak White (English) until 1968. The end of the Seven Year War in Europe in 1763 and the defeat of France was the reason for dominance and oppression in Canada.

Mass slaughter of animals for profit or fun was another concept natives could not understand. Natives living on the Prairies saw the building of the intercontinental railway across Canada which led to the mass slaughter of millions of bisons for fun by white men passengers on the train. In turn this led to mass starvation by First Nations who lost a primary source of food. The Government of Canada was happy to get rid of the ”Indian Problem” as it was dubbed by Ministers of the Government in Official memos.

Monkman also explores and presents with his alter-ego Miss Chief (pronounced Mischief) Eagle Testickle the unfolding history of natives in North America. In native culture gender and sexuality is redefined as Two Spirits, a concept not acceptable within Judeo-Christian morality, this is yet another point of friction between natives and europeans. Many visitors ask with some alarm if he is a man or a woman, is he showing off his erect penis (Freudian power symbol) to the daddies of Confederation, are the daddies (fathers) lusting after him. Yes is the answer but the lust is greed, dominance and power over the native population, the intent pure evil by these colonial politicians. This is very disturbing to many who confess that they never heard of Canada’s history told in this fashion. One man asked me why would the government allow such a show, it should be closed down, I asked if he was advocating censorship.

In the painting, Bears of Confederation, clearly shows a Confederation daddy with praying hands firmly inserted in his butt, while he is being whipped by Miss Chief Eagle Testickle with spirit Bears dancing and chasing in a playful manner other Confederation daddies naked and clad in leather gear.

Further along in the exhibit in the portion reserved to the residential schools which existed for 100 years where children where physically and sexually abused, Canada had a painful enquiry exposing the facts and this led to important financial settlements. The washable silicone hands reappear as a symbol of prayer like those of Albrecht Dürer and as a butt plug  a reference to the abuse that took place in those schools where tens of thousands of children died. In the words of Monkman, Christianity has fucked indigenous people over the centuries.

So you can see the challenge, many visitors accept what they see and others reject it, refusing to accept that anything negative took place. I enjoy presenting this exhibit because it attracts comments and reflection and is an opportunity to learn.

The exhibit continues until September 15, and will then travel to other parts of Canada.

 

 

Caro Amici

Tags

Canada., July, NAFTA, tariffs, Trade, Trump, USA, World

Today is the second day of the Dog days of Summer and it really feels like it, hot and humid with a light breeze at 28C. I am glad we live by the river and the entrance to the Sea which keeps things reasonably cool.

I am thinking of decades ago the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s when relations with our Southern neighbour was far more friendly and casual than they are today. The world changes and if once you were on speaking terms with your neighbour well today it is a different story.  I speak here of Government to Government bilateral relations which have soured considerably over the NAFTA negotiations and tactics of the US Administration to exploit its position.

I miss the days of yore when we could travel to the USA for fun and cross the border without a fuss, a simple smile and a hello. It has become so complicated now to cross the border by car or plane that frankly why bother. You do not know what agent you will get if he will be some paranoid wrap in the flag idiot seeing enemies in every Canadian or if he will be business as usual. At any rate those guys do all they can to make you fell as un-welcomed as possible, I am sure the US tourism industry does not need that kind of help from its government.

Now that Canada has been declared an enemy country causing harm to the National Security of the USA, why should I visit or buy American products for that matter. Canadians are looking for Canadian made or made in other countries products. Here in Charlottetown where we receive a lot of American tourist, the tone is still friendly as long as no one display Trump paraphernalia or MAGA hats.

However today as I was presenting the Shame and Prejudice by Canadian Artist Kent Monkman, our new Summer exhibit at the Art Gallery, I met with several American visitors, they were passengers on the cruise ship in port and were spending the day in town.  I met quite a few very nice people who reminded me that Americans are people with whom you can have good conversations. It is the old saying; do not confuse the citizens with their government, the two are quite different. Many Americans have to live with the fact that at the moment they have a President who is embarrassing them around the world. Like all people they have to live with the government they have and with the obtuse and stupid views of so many in Congress, Senate and White House.

The policies of the Trump Administration are doing harm to the Canadian Economy, Canada being the first trading partner of the USA, our economies are closely intertwined  especially in the auto sector. Damage is also being done to the economies of other countries in Europe, in Asia and Mexico. Next week the NATO meeting will most probably not go well at all and then Trump meets Putin. The USA new friends the former Soviet Union and North Korea, we live in a very strange time.

Many in Canada now understand that it is time to abandon US markets and concentrate on the European Union and the Trans-Pacific region. Once this shift starts it will not revert and lasting damage will have been done to the US economy. Canada is also imposing strategic tariffs against goods produced in States controlled by Republicans who support Trump.

So given this grim picture, one can only hope that Americans will wake up in November and get rid of the GOP members in Congress and Senate for the sake of the USA if you do not want to become another failed State.  Maybe the 40 million Americans who did not vote in the last Presidential election will feel remorse and be running to the poles, let’s hope so.

Happy 4th of July.

Public Library in Detroit, Michigan

Canada G7

Tags

Canada., Chabrier, G7, Music, Politics, threath, USA, World

Now that Canada has been declared a National Security Threat to the USA by none other than Prez Trump, let us look at others who have been declared such in the past by other Presidents and see if Canada fits in with this description.

Measures taken to ensure U.S. national security include:

• Using diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats.
• Marshaling economic power to elicit cooperation.
• Maintaining effective armed forces.
• Implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness policies (including anti-terrorism legislation)
• Ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical infrastructure.
• Using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information.
• Tasking counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from internal threats.

I am sure being a retired diplomat that President Trump has already directed the US Government to take such action against Canada, it goes well beyond tariffs on steel and aluminium.

As the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, was fond of saying, US national debt has become perhaps our top national security threat. The United States has been running trillion-dollar deficits, resulting in a huge explosion in the country’s indebtedness. Publicly held debt now equals 70% of gross domestic product, a threshold many economists consider significant and highly worrisome. Making matters worse, half of our current deficit financing is being provided by foreigners.

Others threats to the security of the USA are:  unstable Middle-East with no peace in sight, Climate change, Cyber terrorism, President Putin, the energy future, South Asia (Afghanistan and Pakistan), the next space challenge, unstable Africa in the face of epidemics like Ebola. With President Trump’s unpredictable behaviour he may by himself create instability for the USA and create new unnecessary crisis.

This weekend in Charlevoix, Quebec the G7 is meeting and the attitude and tweeting of President Trump and his early departure from the conference simply isolates the USA in the world and angers is most trusted and long term allies. Prime Minister Trudeau is correct is stating that the declaration of Trump is illogical and insulting for Canadians. But the President does not seem to care and believes he can bully Canada and other nations. We will have to bow to his demands, however now Canadians are more united than ever in the face of this aggression by the American administration.

So I chose to listen to music instead by Emmanuel Chabrier 1841-1894. When confronted by fools take the high road, this is what I am doing.

Tulip a sign of Spring

Tags

Birthday, Canada., cuisine, Election, municipal, Spring, tulips

PEI grown tulips have now appeared everywhere, they are grown here on the Island by Vanco a Dutch/Canadian family, their grow operation is just a few minutes away from Charlottetown.

On Sunday we will change the clocks to one hour forward Canada Atlantic Time. This means that days will automatically be longer with more sun light, so a strong signal that Spring is here. Someone told me today that the Cruise ships will be back in 8 weeks, we are scheduled to receive 94 cruise ships carrying on average 2000 passengers this year. Yes they all come up Prince Street and make a left turn at Water Street, they pass under my window, all of them. Walking with maps etc the way tourists do in every city in the World, oh joy!

Winter 2017-18 has been mild, no major storms and very little snow, I call it a European Winter though Europe got a lot more snow than we did. We always have very high wind storm in the 60 to 90Km range which can be spooky if you are not use to them, but living on the Island in Winter you become accustomed quickly.

Since 15 February (Canadian Flag Day) I have been busy with my municipal electoral campaign. The key is to meet everyone at least twice in my Ward, population 2300.

ward1councillor2018.wordpress.com

Given that a lot of our friends and neighbours have gone South this Winter, I was starting to think that we too should have gone away for at least one week. Now I have so many commitments that it is somewhat difficult to get away.

As a little project I decided to look at our book shelves again, in the last 40 yrs we have done this periodically. Many books have been given away to the Library or sold at the Used Book store for 0.50 cents. On our trips we often pick-up pamphlets of places we visited and will read them but after a few years they become irrelevant and sit forlorn on the shelve, time to go out.

I just discovered a Williams-Sonoma Easter Menus by Chuck Williams who died at 100 in 2015, the recipes look interesting but I know we are not going to do this for Easter this year or in years to come.

I also discovered books on Canadian Cuisine, one on Fish dishes published in 1959 and the other is the famous cookbook of Chef Jehane Benoit publishes in 1970, she compiled Canadian recipes from all 10 provinces, demonstrating that Canadian Cuisine does exist and is varied. Unfortunately nowadays you would be hard pressed to find a Canadian who knows anything about Canadian original dishes. This is why I am disappointed when people point out Poutine as a Canadian dish when in fact it’s was created in 1957 by a truck driver who had little to eat and combined a bunch of ingredients he had on hand. Later cheap eateries to make a fast buck started to feature it on menus.

And in 2 weeks another Birthday will be upon me, years roll by with alarming frequency. I calculated that if I live to be as old as my parents, I should have another 23 years to go, not bad really, but strange nonetheless.

I leave you with this beautiful photo of the driveway of the Official Residence of H.E. the Ambassador of Canada to the Empire of Japan in Tokyo. It is called Marler House after it’s builder Sir Herbert Marler who in 1931 built at his own expense this magnificent residence famed for its spectacular gold leaf ceiling in the grand dining room and its silver leaf ceiling in the morning room. The house is across the street from one of the Imperial Palaces in central Tokyo and sits in a grand park. I visited this famed residence about 10 years ago, one word comes to mind, elegance.

 

 

 

A picture of town

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, cruise ships, home, PEI

The picture of the waterfront of Charlottetown in mid-1960’s show how industrial the waterfront was with its port facilities, railway yard and vestiges of the 19th century ship building period. If compared to today’s waterfront park, the area is unrecognizable. In 1989 with the demise of the railway in the Province, all rail equipment was removed and instead parks and hiking trails were built, now covering extensive areas not only in the Capital but across the Province.

At the bottom of the photo is the old potato storage terminal, today it’s the Cruise ship terminal completely rebuilt and renovated. Behind it the rail yards  and a rail car repair shop now transformed into a great hall soon to become a Farmer’s Market. Next to it the old oil tank park of a giant oil company, the tank park disappeared and now the area is totally transformed into a lush green park known as Confederation Landing, a gift of the City of Quebec who shares with Charlottetown in 1864 the honour of hosting the conferences which led to the formation of Canada. Next to that more empty land now occupied by the Conference centre and the Delta Hotel, shops and restaurants. This coming Summer Charlottetown will welcome 94 cruise ships from various companies with over 100,000 passengers landing a few meters away from my house.

The waterfront today, you cannot recognize it.   

Winter perspectives

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, Fanningbank, PEI, winter

Today Sunday is a bright sunny day and the temperature is mild for Winter at -5C, in the sunshine you feel warm. Though there is now snow on the ground since 17 January, it is a mild Winter with the exception of the wind.

The entrance to Fanningbank the Official Residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of PEI.

In the countryside at dusk

About that documentary

Tags

Britain, Canada., Crown, documentary, EIIR, GVIR, GVR, Jewels

I saw some preview of a new documentary on Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation. I had forgotten that there are actually 2 Crowns, one for the Coronation moment itself when the intended is actually Crown and then a second Crown which is used for all State occasions, including the rest of the Coronation Ceremony and events that follow.

There is also the State Diadem of 1820 made for King George IV to wear on his way to his coronation. He was one of the many sons of King George III and Queen Charlotte.  This diadem was then worn by his wife Queen Adelaide and then by Queen Victoria and now Queen Elizabeth wears it on several occasions like when she travels from Buckingham Palace to Parliament each year.

The Crown of Saint Edward a solid gold crown is used at the moment of the Coronation itself and then put away until the next Coronation. Fairly heavy to wear on one’s head according to the Queen.

St Edward’s Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels. Named after Edward the Confessor (1003-1066) it has been traditionally used to crown British monarchs at their Coronation since the 13th century.

The original crown was a holy relic kept at Westminster Abbey, Edward’s burial place, until the regalia were either sold or melted down after Parliament abolished the monarchy in 1649, during the English Civil War.

The present version of St Edward’s Crown was made for Charles II in 1661. It is solid gold, 30 centimetres (12 in) tall, weighs 2.23 kilograms (4.9 lb), and is decorated with 444 precious and semi-precious stones. The crown is similar in weight and overall appearance to the original, but its arches are Baroque.

After 1689, it was not used to crown a monarch for over 200 years. In 1911, the tradition was revived by George V and all subsequent monarchs have been crowned using St Edward’s Crown. A stylised image of this crown is used in Coats of Arms, like those of  Canada to symbolise the royal authority of Queen Elizabeth II.

The other Crown we see most often is the Imperial State Crown, it is worn after the Coronation Ceremony and at all State functions.

Usually, the crown is taken to the Palace of Westminster under armed guard in its own carriage and placed in the Robing Room, where the Queen dons her robes of State and puts on the crown before giving her speech to Parliament.

Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, a new state crown was made for Charles II by Sir Robert Vyner. About 10 versions of the crown have existed since the restoration. The one made for Queen Victoria in 1838 is the basis for today’s crown. Made by Rundell and Bridge in 1838 using old and new jewels, it had a crimson velvet cap with ermine border and a lining of white silk. It weighed 39.25 troy ounces, or just over 1.2 kilograms, and was decorated with 1,363 brilliant-cut, 1,273 rose-cut and 147 table-cut diamonds, 277 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 4 rubies, and the Black Prince’s Ruby

The gems in the crown were remounted for the coronation of George VI in 1937 by Garrard & Co. The crown was adjusted for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, with the head size reduced and the arches lowered by 25 mm (1 inch) to give it a more feminine appearance.

I also did not know that for the documentary, the producers were not allowed to photograph the crown from above, as it is considered disrespectful to God. The Crown is a religious sacred object and it is treated as such by the Sovereign and everyone around.  Only the Queen can actually put on the crown which she does by herself without anyone’s help. There is a lot of protocol surrounding this piece of jewellery,  do’s and don’t’s. Really fascinating when you think of it and how it all came about.

 

Absolutism, the modern disease

Tags

absolutism, activists, Canada., Constitution, equality, equity, Men, miracles, women

The word is defined as follows: the acceptance of or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters.

It appears to me that we live in an age of absolute beliefs or opinions. The is no room for intelligent discourse, for presenting facts, to argue in a debate and present a counter point. It looks like we are either for or against and with someone or group or against said person or group. People want a solution to any problem which has to be final and absolute, solve this thing once and for all. Problem is we live in an imperfect world but no matter it’s got to be fixed now. How did we ever get to this point? The age of miracles is past, as the song goes, no matter we demand miracles from our elected officials, from anyone in authority.  Otherwise we are not happy, it is almost a nihilistic approach to life, a total rejection of Laws and Institutions or beliefs unless they prove they can provide us with the solution to a better world where everyone is treated fairly and without prejudice or preference.

In discussions people are pigeonholed along gender lines, economic or educational lines, religious beliefs though many claim not to have any and political view points. You are with the left or the right, you cannot be with the centre in terms of opinions. Age and generations is also another great divide, one group blaming the other and vice versa, usually the elderly are to blame for all the problems of the world.

If that was not enough, the media is also trying to tell you how to think and what to think under the guise of informing you. On social media you are afraid to leave a comment because the caustic reply you will get is well beyond any intelligent reasoning.

There have been other ages in human history where absolute thinking has prevailed. In Europe with the protestant Reformation an age of extreme intolerance, war and violence, tens of thousand died and this happened in the age of the Renaissance and Baroque period. In the 20th century extreme ideologies surfaced all over Europe and in Asia with the results we know.

Now in the 21th century a new phenomenon, populist ideology and concepts coming mostly from North America. In Canada with the adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, Canadians saw a huge change in how they perceive themselves and how they see their country. Enshrine in the Canadian Constitution, the Charter has taken on a life of its own, with unforeseen results. It rectified many wrongs and demolished pre-conceived ideas of how society functions. Many of us profited from the advances brought about by the Charter.  Politicians also used it to push the concept of equality amongst all people. By 1995 equality was replaced by equity, not the same thing and not the same meaning either in legal terms, however few paid attention to this change, confusing equality with equity.  Equity is a great example of a word that started out with a general sense that developed more specific senses over time. In Canada today it generally means giving all to one group as compensation for centuries of perceived wrong doing by the other privilege group. A general rejection of the past and historical figures, they were wrong and awful people. We judge the dead, in some cases the long dead and accuse them today of crimes, using today’s standards. I wonder what we will be accused of in 60 years.

As the concept of equity took hold of Canadian society, some thought they could export this concept to other continents, in the spirit of look how good I am, I will show you how to correct the mistakes in your society. A rather arrogant idea coming from people who do not think in terms of justice but in terms of social revolution fuelled by self-absorbed thinking.

In the last 3 years in Canada we have seen the rise of a movement which advocates that women who are victims of violence, sexual or domestic must be believed no matter what the evidence of lack thereof may be. The simple fact that an allegation is made is sufficient to have the judicial system kick into gear. This movement with the help of the media has alleged that all police force in Canada is corrupt and or non-responsive, the Judicial system is broken and dominated by white old men with patriarchal tendencies, our politicians are accused of being biased.  Now Margaret Atwood, the famous feminist writer and acclaimed author is accused by the very same group of being anti-women because she believes in due process of the Law and said that mere allegations against anyone in the #MeToo movement are dangerous for us all, if no investigation takes place and the allegations are not proven in a Court of Law if they are ever pursued at that level how is society to progress.  One activist said to Atwood, maybe you should listen to young vulnerable females who are powerless, Atwood shot back that she had been listening for 63 years. Another activist wrote on Twitter that she was not interested in Justice or due process but in burning down the building of society and starting from scratch, in other word complete revolution, cannot see to many followers of that idea, but the media loves to broadcast the idea. As one editor told me, we are always on the look out for that story that gets public attention.

What is interesting in all this, was the comment made by a feminist writer and jurist who being interviewed explained that Society at large is simply not following the issue of equality or equity and public attitudes are not changing as fast as some would like. So despite the activists, media and some politicians who would like to see a re-ordering of society with new pro-feminist attitudes, few in Society, men and women are actually following or paying attention to any of it. Passing laws, social engineering, imposing quotas in hiring base on gender alone, demanding that private corporations have a balance ration of men and women on boards, or that Courts of Law have an equal balance of men and women sitting on the bench, etc all of it may have a more surface impact than a deeper attitude changing impact on Society at large.  I am still appalled by television Sport channels and hockey in Canada to see the same toxic macho attitudes being presented and watch in bar, pubs and at home, no one says a word about this, hey hockey and sports in general are sacred institutions. Change will come eventually but change in peoples attitudes to any social question will come at snail pace. You cannot legislate how people think.

However in this age of absolute beliefs and instant solutions, one has to be very careful to either say nothing on social media or parsing one’s words carefully as to not offend the activists who believe they hold the truth.  As  a lawyer said to me, this is the result of the electronic age and the internet. That is scary.

New Year Blessings!

Tags

2018, Canada., Charlottetown, New Year, PEI

A new Year is upon us with all its promise of renewal, Spring around the corner, may your cup overflow with good health, happiness, success and may your days be sunny and bright.

Generous New Year blessings to you all!