That is one lesson the Obama administration can teach us.
Remember when they were trying to hammer out Obamacare, back in the days when many hoped for humane things all industrial countries offered to their citizens like public options? More specifically, when they were discussing covering end of life counselling such as help with living wills, decisions on whether or not to sign DNR forms, etc.; the basics everyone should have covered when that inevitable time comes so doctors and family members have no guess work; they’d know exactly what to do? We all remember the Tea-bagger hit parade’s sweetheart, Sawah Palin came out shrieking about Government “death panels!” “They’re going to kill my down syndrome baby!” (shows what kind of backward ditz she is; the proper term is trisomy 21) and our favourite: “They’re going to kill grandma!” This insanity went on for what seemed like forever. Sawah and the Fox News crowd went on painting these vivid pictures of government bureaucrats sitting in a row deciding who lives and who dies. It got most Americans scared and livid. It was easy to do given it is a culture of paranoia and a culture with a short attention span with little patience for thinking outside the box or stopping to do research for themselves. Far easier to jump on that Sawah bandwagon. We all know how that ended up; a heavily watered down health care bill with no public option and most certainly, no coverage for end of life counselling all due to the misinformation Sawah and her friends shrieked about.
Misinformation and confusion designed to keep Canadians scared is how Steve will sell his expensive insidious tough on crime bills It is how he convinces the aging baby boomers that they need to be kept safe from rif raf rather than health care when in reality, they will have better odds of dying from serious illness than of a crime. In fact, anyone who bothers to check these things out for themselves would see that not only is crime in Canada not going up; many crimes are actually going down. However, you get someone like Steve’s former mentor, Tom Flanagan to play with the numbers a bit and attempt to dazzle readers with some confusing statistical methods to actually convince Canadians that Canadians are very bad people and Canada is a dangerous place to be.
This morning, again, I found on Twitter another statistic citing 2/3 of Canadians being just peachy keen with the police brutality after the admission of Chief Blair being creative with the laws; the revelation of Dalton McGuinty’s sneaky underhandedness, the fact that how the events from Saturday afternoon unfolded just don’t compute, more questionable events being revealed. And folks wonder why I boycotted Canada day? Yes, let’s manufacture some proof that Canadians as a whole are indeed bad people.
Chet Scoville cites a great example as to how Canadians get roped into supporting the police ‘actions’ at G20. A typical paragraph of the subject that is not dishonest, but can be misleading to most who won’t stop to read between the lines. Sadly, most don’t. If they did, we wouldn’t be looking at the above statistic.
More than 1,000 people were arrested during the protests, which saw vandals smash windows and burn police cars.
That kind of statement can lead many to believe that more than 1000, or at least, most of them engaged in smashing windows and burning police cars. Most of us who were either there or following the feed or have met and talked with detainee or those who just know better than to take whatever corporate media is telling us at face value and we’re putting the pieces together and will continue to do so.
Chet Scoville mentioned something that I was discussing with a co-worker today; out of the 900+ who were arrested, none were charged vandalism. Come to think of it: no one was charged with arson (hello, setting fire to those ‘cop cars’?), as far as I can find. There were no theft charges, as far as I can find. I can think of at least two thefts that should have been easy to charge and convict in court, provided the cops behaved, of course:
When they emerged, they saw that a large crystal ball, which weighed about 10 kilograms and cost $299, had been taken, along with a crystal airplane from the hole in the front window.
They would continue going up Yonge with the crystal ball in full view under the cops’ noses. It came from the first Chinese gift shop they broke the window of. It didn’t strike anybody, particularly the cops as weird for kids with black hoodies and bandanas to be lugging a heavy crystal ball that they didn’t have moments before?
No, to date I, nor anyone I know have heard of any of those more serious charges like vandalism, arson and theft. There were just flimsy charges of idiocies like conspiracy, obstruction and resisting arrest. Very telling. I wonder if more Canadians would stop to think and ask why that is?
Sadly, there will be more misleading statements and headlines in the media.
And then, you will have all out dishonesty. Yellow journalism 101. Yes, this is indeed a goody; click on that link and see how low Global’s 5;30 news has sunk just to make their video footage look more, well, exciting. Suffice to say, on their July 10 news report of the G20, the scenes of Toronto’s windows getting smashed and car 766 burning just wasn’t cutting it for them anymore, so they inserted clips of the Vancouver Olympic protests, where newspaper boxes were being knocked down. One piece of advice? Make sure that the names of the newspapers printed on the boxes are not clearly visible in your pictures if you want to look semi-credible. You judge for yourself. Sadly, many won’t pay attention to the “Vancouver Sun” or “The Province” indicated on those boxes and will think they look like any newspaper box in Toronto. I am glad that Norman Farrell, the blogger who caught this has complained about this to the Broadcast Standards Council.
Afterthought: That blanket statement of “the police can’t win; some say they’re not hard enough; some say they’re too hard” is hardly fair. Too general. It also goes to that polling question whether or not Canadians feel the police handled the G20 protests appropriately or not. In order to be fair, the question should be divided into two parts: Ask about the Saturday afternoon, when the cop cars were being burned and the vandalism was taking place under the watchful eyes of the police. Then ask if it was appropriate to round up everyone in sight after all the vandals disappeared.
Anyone going to correct me and have found some vandalism, theft, or arson charges? Lord knows there were more than enough eyewitnesses between the cops, merchants and those not sympathetic to protesters who would have only been too happy to fill out a report.
Really, I have a comments section and email links. Please, send me evidence with links that work that such charges have been laid and are sticking.
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I was truck by how “un-Toronto” the whole car burning thing was, yet how much it does resemble the sort of violent protests we have seen at other G20 meetings. Do we know who the car burners were? Locals or from somewhere else? If these “anarchists” that seem to be everywhere aren’t on anyone’s no-fly lists….why not?
ck Reply:
July 13th, 2010 at 10:44 PM
If you have read some other of my previous posts on this subject; enter search g20 on my site and you’ll find that I believe that this is the work of agents provocateurs, at least, for the most part. Too much doesn’t compute and the more I (we) learn, the more it reeks of cop.
I mean, the orders to not arrest; to allow the vandalism and cop car burning to go on under the watchful eyes of the cops. 10 000+ riot cops in all their gear, and body armor couldn’t catch a few hundred vandals and stop them at the onset? A cop car window which is supposedly bullet proof gets shattered after one kick? The cars are allowed to burn? No one bothered to call the fire department? Not even any effort at crowd control? When there is a fire, particularly of a vehicle (leaking gas?) where there could potentially be an explosion, the cops are supposed to push the crowd out of harm’s way and even put up police ribbon right away. They had a water cannon but made no effort to put out the fire? The crystal ball incident? And it’s quite telling when it appears that none of the ‘vandals’ have been arrested; only the peaceful protesters, bystanders, media, and even those unlucky enough to be going from point A to point B. As I’ve pointed out: out of all those arrested and charged; not one charge of vandalism, arson, or theft. A bit bizarre. If the cops really caught those ‘vandals’ and arrested and charged them and did everything by the book, the charges would have stuck; end of discussion, but we know better, don’t we?
I’M PROUD OF YOU LABOR!. Keep standing up. The lives and health of all the American people and the World are in serious jeopardy.
Further, unemployment healthcare benefits are critically needed. But they should be provided through the Medicare program at cost, less the 65% government premium subsidy provided now to private for profit health insurance.
Congress should stop wasting hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money on private for profit health insurance subsidies. Subsidies that cost the taxpayer 10x as much or more than Medicare does. Private for profit health insurance plans cost more. But provide dangerous and poorer quality patient care.
It’s over. Tell congress to get the healthcare Merchants of death and injury out of the American peoples lives for good. 2010 is about THE PUBLIC OPTION!
And that CORRUPT! UNDEMOCRATIC! filibuster must GO! NOW!
Alan Grayson Honors The Dead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV9TRoYMtjs&feature=player_embedded
Alan Grayson on Healthcare http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPpQ2MNaSDo&feature=player_embedded
Ron Sparks HealthCareReform http://youtu.be/kqlBFRJh4Cw
John Garamendi – The Public Option http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyBTEke68aQ&feature=player_embedded
I want to commend all of you for working so hard and being so strong at helping the whitehouse and congress begin to address our U.S. and Global healthcare crisis. You have been AWESOME! my fellow Americans and peoples of the World. America and the World is better and safer for it. My greatest pride is the knowledge that I am one of you. And that you really get it. You really understand the importance of it all.
There are some potentially very good things in the healthcare legislation. Especially with the reconciliation fix’s. The Democrats, Bernie Sanders and the Whitehouse did a GREAT! job of fighting to produce the best healthcare legislation that they could. They have earned all our strong support. And we should give it to them.
But it was your relentless pressure and hard work that made the difference. Whatever good comes from this healthcare legislation, America and the peoples of the World will have each of you to thank. You were smart, creative, courageous and relentless. You fought together for the best legislation possible. And when you had to, you fought alone. No matter who stumbled and fell you continued to push and forge ahead. Fighting for the lives and health of the American people and the World. YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOUR-SELVES
It may come to pass that future generations will look back on us and say that we were ALL Americas Greatest Generations. And that healthcare reform was our finest hour. You should be proud of our leaders President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and the many other Democratic and independent fighters for the people in congress. They proved them-self worthy of the leadership of a GREAT! PEOPLE.
But we are not done yet. This was just the beginning of healthcare reform, not the end. WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, ARE NOT! divided on healthcare legislation. The vast majority of you have been consistently crystal clear that this legislation does not go far enough. You want a strong Government-run Public Option CHOICE!! available to everyone on day one. And you want it NOW!
YOU MUST NOT ALLOW AN INDIVIDUAL MANDATE TO STAND WITHOUT A STRONG GOVERNMENT-RUN PUBLIC OPTION CHOICE! AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE.
WE THE PEOPLE have been crystal clear that we want an end to dependence on for-profit healthcare and the for-profit proxies called private for non-profit healthcare. The American people want the CHOICE! of a strong Government-run Public Option to replace their need or dependence on healthcare providers whose primary motivation is profit. Rather than providing the highest quality, easiest accessible and most affordable medically necessary healthcare possible. This is what the rest of the developed World has. And the American people want it too. They want healthcare ASSURANCE! Not, for-profit health insurance. And they want it NOW!
Now is the time to continue the push for a strong Government-run Public Option CHOICE! available to everyone that wants it on day one. Rationally it’s clear what we have to do to get this done. SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATS that supported you with a Public Option choice, and REMOVE as many republicans as you can. Not one republican in congress was willing to step across the isle to support a strong Government-run Public Option CHOICE!! available to everyone on day one. NOT ONE! Let no candidate prevail this November that does not support a Strong Government-run Public Option.
47,000 AMERICANS die each year from lack of healthcare. 120,000 die from treatable illness that don’t die in other developed countries. Hundreds of thousands of you are dieing from medical accidents in a rush to profit. And Millions of you are injured. Millions more are driven into bankruptcy. All for the privilege of paying two to three times as much as any other people in the developed world for healthcare. HOGWASH!
Additionally, tens of thousands of you and your children were killed and millions sickened and injured from a terror attack with H1N1 (swine flu). Released on the American people and the World by the for-profit healthcare industry. All in an attempt to panic and frighten you into accepting the oxymoronic criminal enterprise of private for-profit healthcare (The most costly, deadly, dangerous, and disgraceful product sold in America). H1N1 is still sickening people and killing them. Especially children, the young and the middle aged. And there will be a third wave. These are the terrorist you need to worry about the most. Even the so-called international terrorist would not do something so INSANE! But greed driven medical profiteers would and did.
Apparently as far as republicans in GOVERNMENT are concerned, YOU! my fellow Americans – CAN JUST DROP DEAD! Including their own family members. Fools!… Hundreds of thousands of you, and possibly millions of you will die from the long-term effects of your infection and poisoning with H1N1.
So my fellow Human Beings. Rest-up, Take good care of the basics (Balanced nutrition, hydration, exercise, rest and POSITIVE emotional supports). Then wade back into the FIGHT! for a strong Government-run Public Option CHOICE! available to everyone on day one. Drug re-importation, Abolishment or strong restrictions on patents for biologic and prescription drugs. And government controlled and negotiated drug and medical cost. You must take back control of your healthcare system from the Medical Industrial Complex. You MUST do it NOW! This is a matter of National and Global security. There can be NO MORE EXCUSES.
God Bless You My Fellow Human Beings. I’m glad to know of you. And proud to be one of you.
See you on the battle field.
Sincerely
jacksmith – WorkingClass