Only two more days and it’s over!!!!

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Canada., elections, Federal, Harper, Mulcair, Padova, Padua, Parliament, Pyramid, Rome, Trudeau, Veneto, Venice

Like most Canadians, I have suffered through a long and often painful electoral campaign of 78 days, the longest in Canadian history. In Canada usually a campaign is 42 days which is long enough. I am sorry that the important issues like Health Care funding, the infrastructure in our Cities, the economy and our Foreign Policy was not fully discussed instead we got the racist and xenophobic speeches of Stephen Harper who revealed himself to be a hater, a loner and someone out of touch with reality, promising mediocrity and a colonial Canada back to the bad old days.

On the other hand I am very proud that my riding Ottawa Centre had the highest participation of early voters during the four days of advance polling of all of Canada. A feat really when you think of it. Mind you, I, like many people in Ottawa Centre can walk to Parliament in about 10 minutes by foot. So when you are that close to the seat of power it is difficult not to be plugged in all the time, which can also be a curse.

Some 3.6 million Canadians voted during the advance polling an increase of 71% since 2011. It is a supreme irony that Justin Trudeau the son of Pierre E. Trudeau one of our great Prime Ministers, would defeat Stephen Harper, according to Harper, Justin was not ready, really? It seems the public thinks otherwise. Am sure the bitter irony of it all is not lost on Harper and his crew. Justin is 43 years old the same age as JFK when he became President. Justin style was to lead a campaign where he includes everyone of us and speaks of fresh air and positive change. Though Tom Mulcair of the NDP had a good campaign his ideas were sound and solid but unfortunately he forgot lesson number one of politics, keep it simple, in the end too many big words and concepts, all good but  difficult for the average person to grasp.

The vote is Monday October 19 and all the polls of various polling companies now say that the Liberals are at 38% the Conservatives at 30% and the NDP at 24%, many predict a small majority Liberal Government. I am just happy like lots of people that the toxic Harper may be gone and with him the party he fashioned, because if you look closely you will notice there is no team, it’s a Party of One.

Also on Friday many Shred-it trucks around the Prime Minister’s Office and other Ministerial Offices in downtown Ottawa. The number of trucks alone was highly unusual, too many boxes being loaded, there was also some moving of furniture going on. Already a transition on the way? Seems so.

It is Fall now in Ottawa, the leaves have gone from the trees and the air is crisp, pumpkins are out and the Rideau Canal is being drained in preparation for the Winter skating. I have changed my wardrobe to Winter setting a Seasonal ritual. It is also a chance to give away things you no longer want.

We are also getting a trainer again for our two dachshunds, they are as a breed of dogs very difficult to train, too stubborn they say, but it is not impossible and what we want to correct are things that should be attended too.

I am also thinking of Christmas this year what will we do. Probably stay in town, at home. No I am not putting the Xmas music on quite yet.

Here are photos of places I like and visited often maybe Fall like in a way.

Padova, Italy, view of the basilica of Saint-Anthony of Padua which is a beautiful church and contains the grave of the Saint who remains one of the most popular in the Catholic church. He was Portuguese and joined Saint Francis attracted to the Humanist thinking which would lead to the Renaissance period. The Oval park surrounded by a ring of water is the former Roman colosseum which at the Renaissance was converted into a green space. Padova is a University town, lots of good restaurants and history and if you wish to visit Venice, you are only 25 minutes away by train.

The pyramid tomb of Caius Cestius Epulo in Rome at the Protestant Cemetery by the Gate of St-Paul, built in 19 BC in only 330 days. Recently restored with a monetary gift of a Japanese businessman.

A view of the entrance to the Grand Canal from the Sea in Venice. Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore ( Most Holy Redeemer) built in 1592 in Giudecca. Architects Andrea Palladio and Antonio Da Ponte.

The column of Saint Teodoro with the monster of the lagoon in Venice. He is the Patron Saint of the City of Venice. The monument is next to the Royal Palace and the Palace of the Doge. The Chapel in the Palace of the Doge is dedicated to him. St-Teodoro is an Eastern Orthodox Saint and until the 9th century Venice was close to the Eastern Christian rite which explains the Byzantine decorative style of the Basilica of St-Mark. After the Venetian brought back the remains of St-Mark from Egypt in 828 AD, he replaced St-Teodoro as Patron of Venice.

Montreal, today, my home town.

Paris

A simple pleasure, a nice coffee on a Fall day or any day really.

#elxn42

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2015, Canada., Change, corruption, Democracy, Election, Harper, Liberal, NDP, October 19, Vote

On Monday 19 October, a week after Thanksgiving, we will elect the 42 Parliament of Canada since 1867. On Twitter #elxn42 (election 42) is the hashtag used.

Canadians are encouraged to vote this Thanksgiving weekend, voting by anticipation this time is seen as a good thing and it is to prevent a repeat of the last Election in 2011 when 40% of eligible voters or 9 million people chose not to vote.

This is one of the longest campaigns ever, Prime Minister Harper chose to call this election early, we are currently at day 64 of a campaign dominate by consultants imported from the USA and Australia. All work for the Reform Alliance called the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), all have strong connections to FOX News, Tea Party, Koch Brothers, GOP, and other extreme right wing groups, like the KKK, Neo-Nazis and Evangelicals.

Harper has decided that since he does not want to talk about the current Recession in Canada, the unemployment figures, the low dollar at 0.71 cents, failing infrastructure, how he has failed the poor, the elderly, Veterans, and how his foreign policy has had disastrous consequences, his non-existent environmental agenda, his belittling the black guy in the White House, his constant lecturing other World leaders, his chronic underfunding of the Health System by 36 billion dollars as of 2016 and the list goes on.

Harper has picked a piece of cloth to attack a small minority in Canada. The Niqab that piece of cloth covering the face of some Muslim women has become the rallying cry of bigots and racists in Canada. Make people fearful of the ”other” is the campaign strategy of Harper. What is shocking is the number of intolerant and hateful people we actually have in this country. Just look at Twitter or Facebook to see people being proud of exposing their hateful views, their ignorance and xenophobia for all to see and turning that into a badge of honour and patriotism.

Unfortunately the Media in general has been too happy to beat the drum and spin the stories of Muslim women being attacked on the streets, the Harper base cheers. Some Conservative Candidates have said in public ”well they deserved it” PM Harper himself continues his campaign of hateful speeches without nuance and certainly he knows that by promoting mediocrity, the lowest common denominator, he can but win votes. How many Muslims do we have in Canada, they are 1% of the population, a very small group indeed. Harper has labelled them enemies of Israel, terrorists all, Islamicists, so they are fair game. On Twitter and Facebook many talk of an invasion, they must be stopped, what is being advocated to stop them is extreme. Reason and balanced views are not welcome in any such chat lines.

There are lots of extremely naive and poorly educated Canadians out there. People can be excused for not understanding complex economic formulas and monetary issues or even issues on foreign policy if you do not have a background in this field. But on a matter of morality and having the moral courage to stand up to bullies like Harper and pointing out that what he is advocating are not policies that a person wanting to be the Prime Minister should ever consider or even be proud of. This is where a lot of Canadians are moral cowards. As one commentator on Twitter point out ”I am only stating my opinion so I cannot be a racist”.

Harper has made it quite clear that he despises minority, just look at his campaign speeches, any one of them. He firmly believes that the majority can oppress and dictate to a minority, any one who is not White and Christian is an inferior being.

The Canadian Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights protect us from Harper’s abuses and the Courts have pointed out to him time and again that he is quite wrong in his biased interpretation of the Law. He has wasted some $750 million dollars on such challenges in Court. There have been close to 20 judgements so far in the last 2 years against bills he forced through Parliament, all struck down, one by one. He hates the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and has openly criticized her. Again Harper publicly rejects the idea that the Judiciary is a Pillar of our Government.  It serves him well to do so, there are about 35% of the population who cheer him up loudly for doing so, mostly men and women with less than 12 years of education who are in the Middle to lower Middle Class.

We are in a deep morass in Canada right now. It is impossible to have any kind of intelligent conversation or debate with arguments and facts. Canada is certainly not the same country it was just 10 years ago. It has become a place of nasty, unpleasant people, bigots and xenophobes. We can only hope that October 19 will bring change.

The election is so close at the moment with only 12 days to go it looks like we will have a minority government. A coalition of the Liberals and the NDP would save us from Harper. I can’t wait for the suspense to end. I may just go and vote on Friday at least I will feel I have done my bit.

Change of Seasons

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Autumn, Bush, Canada., corruption, cuisine, elections, Fall, Food, Harper, horn of plenty, pumpkin, thanksgiving

With the arrival of Autumn, days are noticeably shorter and the weather cooler, so it is time to look at wardrobes and make a switch to Fall-Winter clothing. I cleaned up my wardrobe, gave away what I no longer wear. I also cleaned my library and made four boxes of books to give to the Ottawa Library, not to worry I still have books for 45 boxes. What I want to do next is go through all the dish ware and glasses, a lot of it we have not used in years, best to sell it or give it away. I also reorganized my 50 mm lead soldiers and packaged all those I no longer wanted on display. It is a long task to box them up and put them away, that alone took 2 days.

I bought a big pumpkin for $5 dollars which I believe was a bargain. Next the small garden on the balcony will need cleaning out and put away for winter. But that can wait until after Thanksgiving on 11 October. This year we will share the preparation of the meal with friends, much easier that way and a lot less stressful.

We got our Voters cards from Elections Canada, so we are registered to Vote in the Federal Election come 19 October. We have to also bring photo I.D. with proof of home address, like a Driver’s Licence. A wind of panic is now blowing in Canada, this very long campaign has people frazzled and politicians making desperate promises for a vote. What is assured now is a Minority Government but who will win is not certain, all 3 major parties are tied at 29 or 30% which is far to close to call. This is truly depressing, it looks like the issue is about a piece of tissue, a veil worn by some Muslim Women. With all our problems you would think that there are more pressing problems facing us but no, oh no, it’s all about Muslims women who wear a head covering. It does not help to point out that Muslims in Canada represent just 1% of the population of 36 million and are no threat to any of us. Hysteria is the order of the day and Mr. Harper is doing a fine job of it. Someone said in the 1950’s it was the Communists now it’s the Muslims, how true. Canada has turned into a version of the book 1984.

As for the refugee crisis Mr. Harper calls them Bogus refugee, that is the only way he refers to anyone claiming to be a refugee, you are bogus, a free loader. What is interesting is how this line of attack has woken up the sleeping beasts of ignorance, racism and xenophobia. Someone pointed out that in the past you had the Tavern drunk who would rant about this or that, but you could always ignore that guy sitting at the end of the bar. Now he is on the Internet and trolls around with his petty insults and outrageous opinions, not so easy to ignore and in the meantime infects others into thinking it’s Ok to be hateful. All the while saying he is a supporter of Stephen Harper and the CPC. I have not heard the Conservatives or Harper contradict or distance themselves from such statements. The other day I was looking at Jeb Bush’s platform for the US Presidency and realized it was the same as Stephen Harper in Canada, scary stuff. What strange times we live in who needs excitement.

You know the old saying.

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Canada., elecions, fascist, God, Greece, Harper, immigration, Jesus, Kurdi, nazis, refugees, shame, Turkey

Some sayings are repeated ad nauseam to the point where no one really knows what it actually means. One such saying is ” Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. In other words learn from the past and avoid mistakes in the future. Who said this first, I have no idea and frankly I dislike this saying profoundly simply because it is trite and totally untrue.

In today’s world not only we do not know our history (the past) or any history or past event for that matter but we are repeating the same mistakes over and over again, all the while saying Those who cannot remember the past are blah blah blah.

In Canada we do not learn from the mistakes of our predecessors if current political events are a guide. During this National Electoral Campaign period the longest since 1892 many issues have come up all important and indicative of the problems beseeching Canada today. One particularly emotional event was the photo of the little drowned child Alan Kurdi dead on a beach in Turkey. The story was of fleeing families from the four year old Civil War in Syria. So far 11 million Syrians of all confessions have fled, those who remain live in fear amongst the ruins, half a million are dead.

The family of this child, some of whom are living in Canada claimed that the Canadian Government had failed to accept them within its refugee program for resettlement. It should be said at this point that as a former Immigration Officer of the Canadian Foreign Service the issues of refugees and people seeking resettlement is well known to me. For many years I worked in Northern Africa and the Middle East and am well acquainted with the movement of population and the work of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugee questions are governed by well established rules and procedures in Conventions written in part by Canada as a founding member of the UNHCR and the UN after the Second World War.

While I was on my last post and working in Athens I often met with Syrians who had been in Greece under difficult circumstances in some cases for 20 years. The Greek authorities considered them simply as transient and did not have to do anything to help them under the UN Refugee Conventions. Turkey created its own problems for anyone arriving on its territory and trying to claim refugee status. Turkey is a land bridge to Europe and the transit of thousands of people through its territory is problematic. Coupled with that the well established criminal gangs which procure passports and other documents in exchange for large sums of money to anyone who can pay. The same gangs are also involved in transporting people to other European destination like Italy. This traffic is well established, profitable and brings large profits in the millions to such criminals who exploit the poor and those who have no were to turn. This traffic victimize people who are feeling for their lives in this case the Syrians.

Governments are very well aware of this situation and it is very well documented, including the routes taken and who is involved. Sometimes a crackdown will happen and some corrupt Government Official will be arrested, but that is rare.

The people travelling can be separated into two groups, the first are young men under 25 years of age who are economic migrants, they seek to find work in a Western country so they can support their families back home mostly in Africa. The other group are families like the Kurdi who may have relatives in countries in Europe or in North America, in this case Canada. Our Canadian Immigration Act is more welcoming or was prior to 2006, since the Harper Regime has made many changes including closing of Immigration Offices in our Embassies abroad, not hiring Officers for many years in a row, creating a staffing crisis where we have insufficient numbers of people able to do the specialized work required in processing refugee claimants abroad and not funding properly the existing program. In Fiscal Year 2014, some 350 million dollars went unspent and was returned to the Treasury, this is unheard of in this time of tight budgets. This was achieve my the Minister refusing to grant authorization to spend budgets despite the need to.

With the closing of our Canadian Embassy in Damascus four years ago and at the same time the closing of the largest Immigration program in the Levant, suddenly the much smaller Immigration Offices in Beirut and Amman and the one in Ankara had to take up the work. This created enormous chaos with a war in Afghanistan and Irak, since those Offices already had a full work load for their area, one example Amman in Jordan covers Palestine and Irak, now they would be also responsible for part of the Syrian program and the refugees who are in Jordan while also keeping Irak in the loop. They had to manage without any extra staff meaning that the programs grind to a halt.

The Harper Regime is fully aware of the problems in the Middle East and the crisis at hand, however this crisis is being exploited for political ends. We saw it in the case of the Kurdi family drowned at sea. The Prime Minister claims that a war in Syria to eliminate ISIS is the solution to this crisis, what are the civilian population to do, that as he says is not his concern. He also claims that we cannot take refugees from Syria because of security concerns. He mentions the danger of terrorism, of the need to be vigilant, he takes a tone of voice which is paternalistic trying to convince people that he cannot do anything at all. This is all too reminiscent of Europe in the 1930’s and the failed response of Canada then.

What has happened here is an abdication of our International Treaty obligations, we are signatory to treaties which requires that we take action. Yes Canada had until 2006 the most generous refugee program per capita in the world. I remember going to International Conferences where other countries would seek our advice on crisis and follow our example. That no longer happens, in fact countries now pretend we are not in the room at such meetings, we have become an embarrassment. Just last week our Finance Minister Joe Oliver was in Turkey and he boasted to the Media in Canada that he was there to tell the Turks how to fix their financial problems, if only they listened to us they would not be in the mess they are now. Such arrogance and all of it to get a few votes from the extreme Right Wing in Canada, Harper’s base. Me, Joe Oliver the White guy speaking to the little people, a tone which is the trademark of the Harper Regime.

After the unfortunate events of 22 October 2014 in Ottawa, when a soldier was shot at the National War Memorial by a drunk and mentally ill man, who was quickly deemed a terrorist, our PM has been fanning the flames of intolerance, prejudice, racism and xenophobia under the guise of security. It works because he uses the lowest common denominator and fear is a powerful weapon. Mr Harper has made no secret that he hates Arabs and Muslims, in his speeches he constantly equates Islam with terror. He has made numerous speeches about Islamists and Islamiscist a word he likes to use a lot. Even ordinary citizens have been stressed about the topic to the point many believe that terrorists are everywhere in Canada. The world is a dangerous place says Harper so we must be vigilant.

While other countries are developing plans with Germany leading the pack by accepting 800,000 Syrian refugees, we in Canada cannot accept Syrian refugees because they could be terrorists.

Mr Harper has promised complex and lengthy security vetting before anyone is accepted. As if we did not have such procedures now and in the past.  Anyone who is considered for immigration to Canada or as a refugee is vetted for Health and Security it is standard procedure and has always been thus. Even in emergency cases where lives are at risk, a security assessment is made by the Officer at post.

But leave it to Harper to invent new complicated procedures that are needless and unhelpful. His base loves him for it, he is going to save us, they claim, you also hear now from people in his own Caucus how Harper is like Jesus Christ, doing the same work, teaching by example. Oh my, we are ruled by a god, are we far from the North Korean model, I wonder.

Today in an open letter a former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, the one who gave us the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, wrote that Harper had shamed Canada. Yes he has shamed us, we are not the country we were prior to 2006. Harper did say that when he was finished with Canada we would not recognize the country. Well he has succeeded. This debacle with the Refugee Case of the Kurdi family is a clear indication of what is happening. Terry Galvin in an article in the Ottawa Citizen investigated the ministerial paper trail and clearly shows that the Minister of Immigration knew all along about this family and the difficulty they were encountering in trying to claim refugee status. Minister Alexander did nothing, he shamed us. By reading the article I saw what happened and can well imagine how all this could have been avoided, lives saved.

What I find especially painful and very difficult to read is the callous and hateful comments of the bigots who loudly support the action of the Harper Regime. They have no shame, they are motivated by the speeches and ideology of Harper and feel justified in expressing their hatred openly. Some go so far as to lift word for word, phrases and expressions from Nazi ideology, advocating shooting them before they get here, mocking the dead for trying to flee and so on, these people vote for Stephen Harper. What has become of Canada? What have we become, a country of nasty little people. When the current situation is compared to Europe prior to the Second World War and what happened to the Jews and many others who did not fit in the Nazi ideology, these same Harper supporters claim that this is not true. Those saying such things attack their leader Harper and are leftist, liberals or terrorists sympathizers and choose many other violent insults to attack and denigrate opponents.

I dare to hope that Harper and his people will go away come October 19, that we can reclaim our country from such fanatics and reactionary elements. The Leader of the Green Party Elizabeth May said that she is willing to go to the Governor General if Harper is re-elected and ask that he use his Royal Prerogative so a coalition government could be formed. According to the latest polls, the results will be very tight because 3 parties are splitting the vote. However a coalition could prevent Harper from continuing his misrule.  Let’s hope for a better day so that we can reclaim our reputation as a honest broker, peace keeper, an example of stability and social peace in the world.