University Of Calgary Professor And Senior Advisor To Canadian PM Calls For Julian Assange Assassination On National TV

The casual call for the murder or assassination of Julian Assange shows how far society has collapsed. How corrupt it is. Why does the mainstream media give these psychopaths airtime? Christ, the interviewers were yukking it up like it was a big joke, like they had a scoop. And this guy is an adviser to Harper. Will Harper disavow him? Will he be forced to come on tv and say he misspoke himself? Probably not. Peacenik is worried about the welfare of Julian Assange. Peacenik hopes he is somewhere safe.

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 12/01/2010 10:41 -0500

It is not a good week for Wikileaks. Following yesterday's Interpol arrest warrant, also yesterday, Tom Flanagan, a senior advisor and strategist to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, called for the assassination of Wikileaks director Julian Assange. On CBS News. On Live TV. As the video notes, "it is believed to be the first ever televised "fatwa" since the edict by the Iranian leadership of the late Ayatollah Khomeini against British writer Salman Rushdie in February 1989." It's a good thing western society, where due process used to mean something, is so much more evolved than that of Iran. Additionally, although news anchor Solomon afforded Flanagan the opportunity to retract his statement, Flanagan balked at doing so and instead reiterated that U.S. President should put out a "contract" on Assange or use "a drone" and that he would not be unhappy if Assange "disappeared." Flanagan who is a trusted member of PM Harper's inner circle of Tory strategists joins Sarah Palin in calling for the death of the Wikileaks director as retribution for the website's release of confidential diplomatic and intelligence "chatter" this week. How long before any senior political advisor has the freedom to issue fatwas on national TV on anyone who dares to utter or publish something that they consider offensive?

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Ayn Rand Conservatism at Work -- Firefighters Let Family's House Burn Down Because Owner Didn't Pay $75 Fee

Yep, society don't need no social safety net. And by the way this is the type of conservatism that Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty believe in. Kids dying of abscessed teeth within shouting distance of the White House. Kids starving all over America. Tent cities. Hobos. Health care? What that? And the goofballs voting these jerks into office are the same ones who will bear the brunt of Ann Rand conservatism. They'll call it freedom. Peacenik calls it stupidity.


Talk of limited government is appealing until you see what it actually means in practice: a society in which it's every man for himself.



Thanks to 30 years of right-wing demagoguery about the evils of “collectivism” and the perfidy of “big government” -- and a bruising recession that’s devastated state and local budgets -- we’re getting a peek at a dystopian nightmare that may be in our not-too-distant future. It’s a picture of a society in which “rugged individualism” run amok means every man for himself.

Call it Ayn Rand’s stark, anti-governmental dream come true, a vision that last week turned into a nightmare for Gene Cranick, a rurual homeowner in Obion County, Tennessee. Cranick hadn’t forked over $75 for the subscription fire protection service offered to the county’s rural residents, so when firefighters came out to the scene, they just stood there, with their equipment on the trucks, while Cranick’s house burned to the ground. According to the local NBC TV affiliate, Cranick “said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn't do anything to stop his house from burning.”

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Iraq veteran Kim Rivera and family appeal to Stephen Harper to stop U.S. war resister deportations

punditman says...

Another brave young American who has deserted from this criminal war. What will Obama do with those who are sent back? Just in case PM Harper misses this Youtube video, you can take action by going to:
War Resisters Support Campaign.

Anger and grief over war dead

David Bruser
Nicole Baute
STAFF REPORTERS

With a nephew killed in Afghanistan and a son headed for the same war zone, a grieving and frustrated Russell Higgins says Canadian soldiers are being wasted on a foolish mission.

Reached at his home yesterday in Upper Musquodoboit, N.S., Higgins said, "I don't figure our boys should be over there to start with. It's a fight that can't be won. They have been doing the same thing over there since the Crusades. You can't win a war against people that don't mind dying."

Higgins' nephew Cpl. Thomas James Hamilton, 26, was one of three Canadian soldiers killed Saturday by a roadside bomb. Pte. John Michael Roy Curwin and Pte. Justin Peter Jones, 21, also died.

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punditman says...I wonder how many relatives of soldiers killed or wounded in Afghanistan feel the same way but are afraid to express themselves? I wonder how many Canadians are weary of watching Don Cherry's jingoism on display on Saturday nights as he shows the faces of the fallen on Hockey Night in Canada? There is now a pullout date of 2011 for this combat mission--contingent on another NATO country putting more than 1,000 soldiers into the southern province of Kandahar, by no means a guarantee.

Nevertheless, one gets the feeling from those who support the mission that they inhabit a certain obedient personality type; they will support the war from now until hell freezes over, or at least until the government tells them it is over. Call it deference to authority in the face of a very authoritarian Prime Minister.

Speaking of whom, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, "This tragic incident demonstrates the considerable risk faced by the exceptional men and women of the Canadian Forces as they work to promote freedom, security and democracy in Afghanistan."

Glowing words of liberty from the man who just prorogued Parliament.

Ignatieff warns PM: Fix economy, or else

New Liberal leader says he'll vote with coalition to defeat government if budget doesn't deliver

Dec 11, 2008 04:30 AM
Les Whittington Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA–Newly appointed Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff warned Prime Minister Stephen Harper that the government's fate will depend on the Conservatives' willingness to rescue Canada's economy.

There will be no early truce in the high-stakes showdown pitting the Liberals and other opposition parties against the minority Conservatives, Ignatieff signalled yesterday.

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Peacenik thinks this threat by Ignatieff is laughable. He might as well say "stop the world turning or else." The economy will not be fixed by anything Harper can do. The aftermath can be alleviated. Peacenik is not sold on Ignatieff. Early reviews are saying he lacks warmth and personality. And Peacenik knows he is a genius. These are the same early reviews that Stephane Dion got. However, Peacenik thinks Harper hit his highwater mark in the last election. He ran against worst Liberal campaign of this and the last century and still couldn't get a majority. The Coalition stopped the Shock Doctrine from being instituted and the sheeple screamed. Sometimes the sheeple are very scary. Peacenik thinks that at the very least the Liberals under Ignatieff can lead a minority gov't that can survive with NDP and Green support.

Harper checkmated?

by David Orchard
Global Research, December 9, 2008

At the Prime Minister’s request, the newly minted 40th parliament of Canada has been prorogued, closed until January 26th, creating a situation unprecedented in Canadian history — a government has avoided defeat by dismissing the nation’s lawmakers.

Over the next seven weeks, we will see a wave of propaganda and mobilization, amply funded, from the Conservative Party attacking the opposition leaders. This spending will take place outside the election writ period and thus, like the attacks on Liberal leader Stéphane Dion over the past two years, will be subject to no spending limits whatsoever.

At the end of January, on the date that he has chosen, Mr. Harper will meet Parliament and present a budget.

If his budget and/or throne speech fail to pass the House, Mr. Harper will seek — perhaps successfully — to dissolve parliament and go to a general election. He will have the momentum of seven weeks of wall-to-wall campaigning, without bothersome election spending restrictions, at his back.

If the Conservatives receive a couple of percentage points more of the vote (or if, for example, the Green Party takes one or two percentage points more), Mr. Harper may well receive the majority he has been desperately seeking.

With a majority, Mr. Harper will be able to move rapidly to do many of the things he has been restrained from doing so far — whether this means emasculating the opposition parties by removing democratic, proportional, public funding, completing the destruction of the Canadian Wheat Board, or undermining Aboriginal and women’s rights.

If the Liberals and the NDP enter the next election competing against each other as usual — something Mr. Harper is counting on — they will divide once again the votes of progressive Canadians (the majority) and may well leave themselves, and our democracy, badly damaged.

One thing Mr. Harper may not have counted on is that, instead of falling apart, the coalition may solidify and take the initiative.

This could happen if the NDP and the Liberals (and, hopefully, the Greens as well) make a concrete agreement not to run against each other in any riding in the country.

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Punditman says...
Perhaps Stephen Harper is checkmated or perhaps not. But the only real hope for Canadian progressives is a functional coalition of fellow travelers who can actually challenge the right-wing in Canada on the same playing field. Not the current namby pamby effort.

Unfortunately, it seems Michael ("Invade Iraq") Ignatieff looks as though he will gain control of the Liberals, at least for now. We are either back to square one and the Left will once again split into more pieces than a toxic derivative, or it is time to start to build a real coalition that can actually defeat Harper in the soon-to-be next election. Why not take it one step further and form a new party if necessary? Whaddya think, comrades?

A sad day for Canada

By agreeing to shut down parliament, the governor general saved the bacon of Stephen Harper's besieged Conservatives

Michael Stickings

The political situation in Canada – coup, crisis, call it what you want – continues to take new and dramatic turns. On Thursday morning, as expected, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, seeking to avoid a confidence motion - which he would lose, given that his Conservative government only has a minority of the seats in the House of Commons - met with governor general Michaëlle Jean to ask her to prorogue, or end, the current session of Parliament. Instead of calling for another election or turning to the Liberal-New Democratic coalition (which, with support from the Bloc Québécois, holds the majority in Canada's House of Commons), Jean granted his request.

What this means is that there won't be another confidence motion until parliament resumes sitting late in January - seven weeks from now - at the earliest. The government may then lose a confidence vote on the Throne Speech, which will begin the next parliamentary session, or on the budget, but, in the meantime, both sides will campaign aggressively to woo public opinion – the Conservatives even more so given the fact that they have more money than the other parties. In other words, we're about to be sucked into an election campaign but without the election.

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Enquiring minds want to know what Peacenik thinks about the Harper/Coalition catfight. Peacenik was an early and ardent supporter of the Coalition. Peacenik recognizes that the Conservatives have won the first round of spin. Harper's conflating the Coalition with Separatism seems to have succeeded. And Dion's pathetic appearance on tv failed. The Coalition cannot let Dion anywhere near a tv or microphone again. His voice alone grates on Peacenik's nerves. The Liberals need an interim leader. This will void the major rallying cry of the Conservatives. Then there can be a rational debate on the issues. Harper has walked away as jobs are swirling down the toilet. By the time Harper comes back from his vacation thousands and thousands more jobs will have disappeared. Peacenik saw the true face of Harper and the ideologues. The Coalition, minus the albatross of Dion, should be able to make their case. The rednecks, now screaming about the separatists and Dion attempting to steal the election, will be unemployed by January. Let a rested and tanned Harper face parliament then. Who you gonna blame?

One prime minister too many

The Liberals, NDP and Bloc have signed a historic accord that supports a Liberal-led coalition government. But the Conservatives are determined to do all they can to stay in power

STEVEN CHASE and CAMPBELL CLARK AND BRIAN LAGHI
Globe and Mail Update
December 2, 2008 at 8:30 AM EST

OTTAWA — Stephen Harper's beleaguered Conservative government girded yesterday for an all-out battle to stave off imminent defeat at the hands of a newly minted Liberal-NDP coalition, signalling it might even move to terminate the current session of Parliament to do so.
This morning, Governor-General Michaëlle Jean announced she is cutting short a state visit to Central Europe to return to Canada on Wednesday "in light of the current political situation in Canada."

Government supporters said they are planning rallies across the country and will go door-to-door to gather signatures on a petition protesting against the deal that could lead to the Conservatives' ouster as early as next week by a coalition that would make Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion interim prime minister. Rally locations will include Rideau Hall – home of the Governor-General – and Parliament Hill. Sources say broadcast or print advertising is also a possibility.

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Peacenik has been cogitating on this turn of events and Peacenik is now sleeping better. Peacenik supports the coalition. The Harper government has no greater claim to office than the coalition has. The Harper government has done great harm to Canadian society. The recent economic update showed, that at a time of maximum peril to Canada's well being, Harper chose ideology over reason. The Harper government believes in a free market approach to problems regardless the consequences. Now let it face the consequences. Peacenik says: "Adios."

Update: Peacenik just found this interesting take on the situation at Firedoglake. Check it out.

Opposition sets coalition terms

Dion would become prime minister until May, when his successor would take over; NDP pledges to support Liberals for 30 months, Bloc pledges 18 months

JANE TABER , BILL CURRY , CAMPBELL CLARK and STEVEN CHASE
Globe and Mail Update
December 1, 2008 at 5:47 PM EST

OTTAWA — The leaders of the three opposition parties presented their plan to topple Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government at a press conference in Ottawa late Monday afternoon.

The leaders of the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois publicly signed a coaltion accord and sent a letter to Governor-General Michaëlle Jean saying the opposition has lost confidence in the Conservatives.

The proposed coalition government between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party would last until June of 2011, but the Bloc is only pledging support for 18 months.

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With events changing by the hour, Peacenik is finding it difficult to prognosticate. But at this juncture, Peacenik assumes that a Dion-led coalition is appointed. Peacenik also assumes the economy goes to hell anyway -- even with a big Liberal/NDP stimulus. Peacenik also projects that Harper will scream that his way would have worked and blames the Liberal/NDP alliance for all problems. The Sheeple agree and Harper gets elected with a huge majority and immediately institutes the Shock Doctrine. Canada then joins Zimbabwe as a world basketcase. Peacenik is having trouble sleeping.

What's the Matter With Canada?

How the world's nicest country turned mean.

By Christopher Flavelle Posted Friday, Sept. 12, 2008, at 11:17 AM ET

Last Sunday, news came that Canada—sensible, quiet, some would even say boring Canada—will hold an election on Oct. 14, its third in four years. Those outside the country may wonder what the problem is; in Canada, after all, health care is free, the dollar is strong, same-sex marriage is legal, and the government had the good sense to stay out of Iraq. You might think of Canada as the un-America, where the only debate ought to be whether to spend the country's growing oil wealth on faster snowmobiles, bigger hockey rinks, or Anne Murray box sets.

But beneath the calm exterior, Canada's political system is in turmoil. Since 2004, a succession of unstable minority governments has led to a constant campaign frenzy, brutalizing Canada's once-broad political consensus and producing a series of policies at odds with the country's socially liberal, fiscally conservative identity. Canada is quietly becoming a political basket case, and this latest election may make things even worse.

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Peacenik says read this story and ask yourself if it describes how you want Canada to be.

Canadian "Peacekeeping" Troops in Afghanistan: Keep Pearson out of it

By Linda McQuaig

Global Research, February 5, 2008

The Toronto Star

The Harper government's flagging campaign to sell Canadians on extending our combat mission in Afghanistan has clearly found new legs since the release last month of the pro-war Manley report.

The turnaround moment probably came at a press briefing when John Manley, head of the government's advisory panel on Afghanistan, defended the mission by invoking the name of Canadian peacekeeping hero Lester Pearson.

Since Canadians have tended to associate Afghanistan with torture and a cowboy-style "war on terror," the invocation of Pearson's name – from fellow Liberal Manley – was highly potent.

It was also absurd, even preposterous – like invoking Abe Lincoln as a nation-building forerunner of George W. Bush.

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© Copyright Linda McQuaig, The Toronto Star , 2008