FIFA Brazil

These world games: FIFA, the Olympics, have become a display of unconscionable behaviour wherever they are and by whomever. The competition to provide a grand stage overcomes all reason. The result is unprincipled executives taking space from the least able to afford it, the people directly impacted having nothing to say about it.



The practice is repugnant and I sincerely hope that no other country impoverishes itself for this purpose and no one is displaced ever again to please a handful of people for a few minutes.

Tell the truth so we can find a way to cope with privatization

Vancouver, BC

22 May 2014

Premier Christie Clark

BC Legislature

Victoria BC

Dear Premier:

This tired old problem began with the federal government in 1993 when the Liberals reneged on their responsibility to fund the provinces adequately for the services for which we pay taxes. It is not a problem between adults, as you say, it's a major problem between governments, one of which, if not both, fully intend to privatize all services. 

But none of you in government will tell the truth. Instead, you put the onus on teachers to take up the slack and get funding any way they can to meet their needs, even out-of-pocket. You even cover the truth by boasting of inputs of big dollars. In fact, those dollars are going down every year while every year the population increases, dramatically. Even the resulting increase in taxes doesn't accomplish what it should because the lion's share goes to the federal government and the distribution back to the provinces decreases every year.

Trying to hide this from the people paying the bills and shifting the blame to the people we need most in our society is very distasteful and the longer it goes on the more unsavoury it becomes. There isn't another name for it, it's lying.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing you tell BCers the truth, bringing us into the discussion like adults because this is not going to get resolved in any way until you do. 

Respectfully,

BCTF Strike

Hon. Peter Fassbender

Minister of Education

BC Legislature

Victoria, BC

Dear Minister:

This is nagging at everyone in the province, in the country actually, while we wait patiently for you and your government to tell us the truth: you are privatizing education. That is your intention. But you refuse to say so out loud. That's lying, by omission. 

The sham negotiations go on year after year where you have no intention of negotiating but bullying your way through another round: take it or leave it! Meanwhile, teachers are overloaded, underpaid–-can we ever pay them enough?–-supplying material out-of-pocket, working long hours, burning out early. 

The privatization of everything in the country is clearly well underway; it can't possibly be unspeakable by now because it's in plain sight. Yet, both the provincial and the federal governments refuse to speak the word that will undoubtedly cost you many votes. 

Taking constituents for fools is hardly a strategy to advance relations in the province where funds are consistently withdrawn from public services. This may be the result of the federal government short changing the province(s), but it is the responsibility of the province to fight for its peoples' needs–-unless, of course, the province concurs. We are a liberal democracy where these services are meant to be protected, not sold off nor are citizens meant to be cut loose. 

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing someone in your government saying clearly that you are privatizing all services, at least, giving us the truth to work with. 

Respectfully,

The indefensible refusal protect girls and women

There is no safe place on the face of the earth for the female sex from a large and growing element of the male population.



Men in power, and I am loathe to say, even those few women who have the clout, do nothing. They defend real estate, anything of material value, the mere molecules of currency, even each other with all their might, but cannot muster the courage to take on the warped, sub-human creatures who violently abuse helpless little girls purely for the power over them and sexual gratification.



Governors who live by such value systems that they literally stand by and watch this are of the same level as the evil-minded predators and one has to conclude that they take some kind of revolting pleasure from it.



Violence to women is an intergenerational epidemic, it multiplies with each new crop of boys and girls who grow up in this distorted atmosphere much of which comes directly from the anomalous boot camp and battlefield. Even in Canada we have appalling statistics: 173,600 reports of violence, a 15% increase in dating violence and yet more missing Aboriginal girls and women in one year (2012). Despite the history and the extraordinary numbers for a country like ours, governments on all levels but the federal Conservative legislators in particular, adamantly refuse to investigate, even claim satisfactory policing is in place when confronted.



How do these men face their wives and mothers, daughters and nieces with the knowledge that they have the power to protect women and girls but refuse to use it? Given world-class defences, state of the art weaponry and millions of soldiers proudly and threateningly displayed to all comers who might think of setting foot on a slip of land what is the deterrent to protecting females from the hordes of bullies who freely take advantage of their vulnerability. And since all bullies are cowards what can possibly be easier and cheaper?



I regard the so-called powers of the world with abhorrence for their pusillanimous behavior in doing absolutely nothing about the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria. Of no more value to their stations than the criminals we need to ensure that their power is removed to responsible bodies governed by responsible adults, equally of the sexes, who will actually carry out their duties. And we need to take these steps immediately before they can do any more damage to any more women and children, before they can force any more violent sexual behavior by decayed men on the most defenceless people on earth.