Enough

I've had it with all these bloody road maps. The latest, from the CBC, calls for a road map to the post-Kyoto world of 2012. Ironic really, when roads and vehicles are one of the biggest culprits behind global warming. I wonder if the editors at CBC can see that fact clearly. Ultimately none of us can if we actually believe that we can have endless economic growth without destroying the planet. When we jump a plane to Cancun or Australia, that's one more gaping wound in the heart of future generations, let alone other species on this planet. Humans can't keep pretending that we're not borrowing, interest-free, from future generations

So we only see the world in terms of road maps, destinations to be accessed by burning fossil fuels. What we really need is a rail system or a transit map to the post-Kyoto world, or even better a dirt path. But considering that none of our leaders, intellectuals, industrialists, elites generally, have ever set foot on a bus, don't expect them to even understand how important transit is, let alone how telling semantics are.

Calm Down?

Not that this video doesn't speak for itself but it seems to me that this speaks to the rotten heart of democracy in the US. And I think it's important to note that this isn't a Republican event but a Democratic event; we've all heard how Bush manipulates public events to his benefit. Ultimately the message is clear: don't ask any real questions and don't dare to challenge your leaders, whatever their party (only two choices by the way). As John Kerry stated: let's all calm down.

Doesn't sound like the US we've all heard about in the movies. I think that this video demonstrates the truth about American "democracy" and democracy everywhere. As long as elites aren't inconvenienced the sheep can have all the democracy they like (within limits of course). But when elites need oil and other resources, as they begin their slow decline, the sheep had better fucking get in their pens and shut the fuck up.

I feel quite ill after having seen this video. First of all no one stood to help this young man and protect him from Homeland Security. Why would you I guess? You'll just end up twitching on the floor like he did. And the fact that 8 police officers felt the need to taser him into submission is outrageous. Can you imagine a gang of police running Paul Martin's speaking events? After seeing this video I'm sure he's considering it.

The Only Good Indian . . .

The (non-binding, of course) United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was passed today with just four states voting against it (remember it's non-binding). Who were these states: Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Amazingly these are the four states that have benefited handily from the displacement and genocide of indigenous people over the past say four hundred years. When your whole existence is based on violence it's kind of hard to face that violence. So you act in denial of the facts. Hence the vote today.

As Ward Churchill reminded me the other day, 1/3 of the continental United States is a giant land claim or in more plain language, stolen land. Similarly during university, I learned that most of British Columbia was snatched without the appropriate "legal" documents showing a transfer of ownership. Again more stolen land.

I want to believe that despite today's embarrassing vote, Canada will acknowledge in a real way the violence perpetrated on this continent's first nations peoples. But the state that we have constructed today is a result of that violence. This current construction, Canada, will never be in a position to admit it has been guilty. Just ask anyone what they think of first nations peoples; they'll curse them for not "paying taxes", or for being drunks or some similar shit.

The only hope for this state is its eradication.

The End of Imagination

So Toronto is in a budget crunch. For the TTC there seems to be three options: 1) Raise transit fares; 2) Cut service levels dramatically; and 3) Raise taxes. The latter is, in this political climate, unthinkable and the other two are also problematic. All cities seem to be passing through this phase as unimaginatively as possible.

Why is raising taxes such a taboo subject? Well simply because big government is bad (not that I've seen much evidence of a smaller government since the times of famous slashers Mike Harris and Jean Chretien). The government shouldn't be redistributing wealth, the market does that (poorly).

Plainly, this is bullshit. The answer is as simple as pie. Tax those who can afford it--progressive taxation (property taxes arguably do this). But with the CBC boasting of Canada's billionaires, don't expect this to happen. Taxation is off the table.

What does this conversation say about civilization (at least in southern Ontario)? That people have come to expect their cake and to eat it too. This attitude can be extracted to include other topics such as climate change. We think that we can have all our gizmos and crap from China and apples from New Zealand and run the air conditioning all day and idle our SUVs and somehow stop runaway climate change at the same time. We can't. We have to accept limits. And if we don't then it's over.

This reminds me of Derrick Jensen who laments the insanity of our death culture. Hard to disagree with him.

Green Laden

He's back.

Often we hear of martyrs and victories but perhaps though there might be some wisdom in his words. Has anyone suggested such heresy before? I assume they didn't last long.

In 2002 though, Osama Bin Laden declared of the US (and by association Canada, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Japan, the EU etc): 'You have destroyed nature with your industrial waste and gases, more than any other nation in its history. Despite this you refuse to sign the Kyoto agreement so that you can secure the profit of your greedy companies and industries'.

How come that was never part of the CIA translation beamed around the world? Maybe we need to stop relying on them and listen for ourselves.

Of course it's interesting that Bin Laden's wealthy family is no doubt deeply involved in the destruction of the planet through oil extraction. Yet abandoned by his family and living simply in Pakistan, presumably, his ecological footprint is surely much less than mine. Maybe he's not just a one-dimensional death dealer as we have all been told.

I hope that the Hamilton Public Library answers my request and orders a copy of most of his speeches in translation. What an interesting source they would be.