Thursday, October 15, 2015

For Who And What He Is

                                               http://www.people-results.com/

Carol Goar has an interesting column in today's Toronto Star. She writes that this election has held a mirror up to us and forced us to face some hard truths -- some good, some not so good. Among the not so good is the notion that our fabled tolerance is a myth:

If the polls are right, eight out of 10 Canadians find it “offensive” that a few Muslim women wear niqabs when they take the oath of citizenship. Have these people ever attended a citizenship ceremony? Have they ever spoken to a woman who wears a niqab? Are they affected in any way by what Muslim women wear?
Casting judgment on minorities has somehow become acceptable in Canada. How did we let this happen? Why aren’t we standing up to the perpetrators?

On the other hand: 

Our humanitarian instincts remain strong. We entreated Ottawa to welcome Syrian refugees the same way Canada took in 37,000 Hungarian refugees in the 1950s, 7,000 Ugandan refugees in the 1970s and 60,000 Vietnamese refugees in the 1980s. When the governing Conservatives did not rise to the challenge, we rolled up our own sleeves and worked through our churches, community groups, service clubs, schools and universities to sponsor refugees privately. 

And, when our federal government refuses to recognize our humanitarian instincts, we act on our own:

We’re becoming a do-it-yourself nation. We organize, fundraise and volunteer to sponsor refugees, protect the environment and provide relief to people in natural and man-made disasters. We no longer look to Ottawa as the guardian of medicare. It’s up to us. We no longer expect our national government to set pan-Canadian standards or build public consensus. We do what we can ourselves. 

How will this effect Monday's vote count? It's hard to say. But it appears that, while Stephen Harper has changed this country for the worse, we have seen the man for who and what he is. 


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's a nice overview of Harper's tactics:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/15/stephen-harper-master-manipulator

Mogs Moglio said...

"Why aren’t we standing up to the perpetrators?" Because Stephen J' Harper embraces the perps like those in power in Canada always have. You don't remember Goar the pepper spraying Jean the 'Liberal' ordered the RCMP to inflict on demonstrators in Vancouver? The demonstrators were innocent but did not realize they were against a mogul of the 1% so they got punished to show Canada how foolish it is to stand against their apartheid policies that run through First Nations to supporting Israel and denying 'the holocaust' Israel is inflicting on the Middle East. How about the Toronto G-20 where innocents were bludgeoned by Canada's police state? Canada has always supported racial hatred and violence Harper coming from 'The Northern Foundation' a neo-nazi racist hate group just extols it in our so-called civil society. Here read Canada's real history we as a collective are a bunch of bigoted racists or so that is the face the 1% of Canadian's expose to the world:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/10/02/junior-partner-of-empire-why-canadas-foreign-policy-isnt-what-you-think/

And so it goes Harper is still an office boy running the PMO for these 1%...

Owen Gray said...

When it comes to race relations, we have a checkered past, Mogs. But, occasionally, we have risen above our darker angels. Mr. Harper pays homage to those darker angels.

Owen Gray said...

An excellent piece. Thanks, Anon.

Mogs Moglio said...

Owen i believe that the small minority who's ego Steve strokes are certainly the darker ones but they are not the majority Harper's track record proves that.

Let's do the math shall we? Only about 60% of the 'eligible' voters voted last election. So 40% of us never voted Harper-con. Of the 60% Harper-con only got less than 40% of 60% with me? 40% of 60% = 24% of 100% of eligible voters, therefore less than a quarter of Canadians supported Harper and now many of those see that as a foolish and naive mistake especially those that did not vote...

Harper in all reality may only represent less than 12% of Canadians. Some 'old school' Canadians are still fooled by the 'conservative' label the Harper/Mackay criminal cabal con gong show literally stole from Sir John A. MacDonald.

I heard that Sir John rolled over in his grave several times because of the Harper/Mackay criminal conspiracy to steal democracy from Canada...

Did you hear about that?

Mogs Moglio said...

Oh and by the by Owen this article holds hands with Anon 9:10 AM's...

http://www.globalresearch.ca/canada-the-cover-up-and-steal-of-another-election-the-harper-corruption-of-canada-and-opposition-fear-to-name-it/5480540

Owen Gray said...

I suspect that what Harper has done to the Conservative Party would have sent Sir John to his whiskey cabinet, Mogs.

Mogs Moglio said...

That too if he was alive.

Steve said...

This election will define us going forward. Just like a second Bush term defined America. If we reject Bananna Repuplicism Canada has a bright future. If we fall for Harper knowing what we know, having seen him use the worst tactics ever, we do not deserve to call ourselves Canadians anymore.

Owen Gray said...

I agree, Steve. We know all about Harper's character. This election is a character test for us.

Anonymous said...

I have read about the polls claiming that 80% of Canadians supported the niqab ban. However, I do not know which pollster had carried out that poll and how credible it was.

Recall that Angus Reid, using its dubious online, non random polling methodology, had claimed that 82% of Canadians supported Bill C-51. Turned out that some 50% of these C-51 supporters even admitted in the same poll that they did not know much about the bill. Later polls, as people became more informed, showed that the majority actually opposed C-51.

I wonder if the poll had pointed out (don't know if it did or did not) that these women had already unveiled before the public ceremony, and that the Courts had already said that there was no issue with establishing their identities, whether these supposed supporters of unveiling would still feel the same?

Therefore, I would treat the claim that 80% of Canadians support unveiling during the public ceremony with a very large grain of salt. But are there bigots among us? Of course, but not as many as some would have us believe to suit their political purposes (at least, I hope). Oct. 19 will tell.

Steve said...

I added a photo to my comment above. If it plays out as I dream, images like it were a big part of a master plan to defeat evil.

Owen Gray said...

The polls are all over the place, Anon. Who knows what the outcome will be? It does appear, however, that Trudeau has momentum.

Mogs Moglio said...

Well Liberals had nowhere to go in 20ll that were upset with the Jean/Dion/Michael never ending fiasco's except the cons because they would not vote NDP. However in Quebec they refused the 'Blue pill' of Harper-con and readily swallowed the Orange pill. Now things are different Mulcair does not have the crowd appeal Layton did and the Liberals have rebuilt after their crushing 2011 result and have a guy with a name and some charisma [a little to the younger crowd]. So the tide is turning harper the albino is going to have to hang up his fear mongering war mongering apartheid Israeli loving ways at least as a politician anyways. The writing is on the wall as they say.

If I'm wrong Owen, which i am not ;), I'm willing to bet a basket of fresh Okanagan organic heirloom tomatoes yum...

You don't have to put up a thing ;) I know you would and could not anyways ;)

Cheers,
Mogs

Owen Gray said...

It will be interesting to see how your crystal ball works, Mogs.

Mogs Moglio said...

Okay Owen if I'm wrong you get some seriously awesome BC Canadian tomatoes. Just think you can put them in a stew a roast beef sandwich a pasta sauce a salad [they are indeed versatile]or you could save the seeds since they are heirloom [never been hybrid or genetically modified have no Round-up in em, you get the idea]perfect Canadian and delicious tomatoes you can eat and grow in Ontariario [sic on porpoise riding on a dolphin] but then you have to admit publicly on your Blogger: Northern Reflections; that My Crystal Ball was infallible.

If you agree you got a deal if not no Okanagan heirloom tomatoes for you...

So if I polish my crystal ball as I am doing now, oh wait there are some clouds or a fog descending on this October election. I look through the fog, wait a minute I see three outcomes. Holy baloney the fog is Harper cheating again, again? Yups.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/15/stephen-harper-master-manipulator

He can't help himself without cheating my crystal ball shows me. Ah here are three outcomes for October 19th says my newly polished crystal ball:
1) harper minority
2) trudeau minority
3) none of the above?