NOTHING CHANGES IN OUR JAIL SYSTEMS

Whether it's federal or provincial jails, our authorities don't seem to be paying attention. Ashley Smith was treated abominably leading to her eventual death in jail in Kitchener. Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story "Guards "brushed off " pleas for help". The indiviual involved had a long history since childhood of mental illness which was being controlled with medication. Once in jail when his prescriptions ran out, the guards and administration ignored his pleas for necessary medication. The very predictable result was a suicide attempt. Clearly whatever faint lessond were learned by Correctional services Canada at the federal level have not moved down the line into provincial institutions. Maplehurst guards saved his life after he was unconscious from self inflicted suffocation but it didn't have to go that far if they had responded properly in the first place. Once again however there will be limited to zero discipline for life threatening negligence by authorities within our prison system. This time the inmate survived and is currently out on bail. The whole ordeal is exacerbated by jail guards alleged "retaliation" for his troublemaking when he was sent from hospital back to Maplehurst. Our prison systems are shameful.

LOW ENGLISH & MATH SCORES AN UNFAIR TEST OF EDUCATION SYSTEM

Look I mean really. What other government departments or ministrys have to suffer the embarassment of a score card being publicly produced showing the failings of that government body? Therefore why should the Ontario Ministry of Education as well as all the school boards in Ontario have their failings so publicly demonstrated? Today's Waterloo Region Record again takes our education system to task and this time it's in relation to Applied Math and Applied English in Grades 9 and 10. The article is titled "Ontario test scores low in applied maths, English".

Let's also be fair here. We don't have enough jobs for University graduates much less high school grads so therefore it's much easier to blame the victims when they haven't completed high school by telling them it's their lack of education holding them back. Of course it isn't but governments and politicians are masters of passing the buck. Therefore what I'm saying is that governments don't really want or need highly educated citizens. Who the hell will do the janitorial work, collect garbage, drive trucks, shovel asphalt and work in the few remaining factories in our society?

Therefore the reality is that stronger students based on socioeconomic status, great genes or sheer luck will always do well academically despite mediocre teachers, courses and school boards. Poorer students again based upon the luck of the genetic pool, poverty or whatever other factors come into play will not. Our politicians are at least smart enough to know this. Therefore their incentive to make everybody better academically is zero. Politically however they have to at least pretend hence that is wjust like our other government ministries such as Environment, Labour and Transportation. It's all for show folks. This society desperately needs people to do the real work not just academics and paper pushers.

ORGANIZED CRIME IN CANADA

Has everyone heard the joke about the boy who told his father that when he grows up he wants to work in organized crime? His father then responds "Oh - private or government?". That pretty much sums up today's posting. The Waterloo Region Record carried the following article by three gentlemen from the Fraser Institute, a right -of-centre think independent think tank. The title is "Your family's largest expense may surprise you". Well it surprised me and I really don't think I'm naive. Taxes of all kinds and at all levels, hidden and visible, cost more than food, clothiong and shelter combined. That is truly ridiculous. All taxes on average cost citizens 41.8% of their gross income.

We all know that income taxes were supposed to be a temporary tax due to the war effort. I've forgotten if this was the First or Second World War because the f...ing things have been around my entire life. If it weren't so reprehensible one could almost admire the chutzpah of politicians. The dirty shits tell Canadians to tighten their belts while they and their ilk have been on a non stop steal from Candian citizens quest for generations. To my mind this is no more than organized theft with the power of the state to throw citizens in jail who tell the government to flock off and or refuse to pay taxes. Did serfs in mediaevel England have it any worse than this?

It's also not as if we get good service for our tax dollars. Yes there are some fairly adequate government programs and services. Then we have transportation, labour and environment portfolios at the provincial and federal levels. What a pathetic joke. Our citizens die or get badly injured by the thousands both on the highways and via environmental toxins in our food, water and air. Or they die by the hundreds in Canada while working at unsafe jobs just trying to pay for their f...ing taxes. Democracy my ass! This is a country run by the few for the benefit of the few and the rest of us are merely serfs to be milked along the way. Government is the worst form of organized crime there is.

ANOTHER CATACLYSMIC TRADE DEAL

Steve Kannon in the Woolwich Observer published this report titled "Sold a bill of goods: trade deals benefit a few, while most of us take the hit". Steve points out how NAFTA back in the 1980's effectively killed manufacturing in Ontario as well as in the U.S. heartland. CETA or the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union will do the same thing again. Steve bashes the Harper governments hiding of facts and figures that show the trouble in store for most Canadians because of these trade agreements.

Municipalities are not impressed with having to put tenders out for international companies to do local work including infrastructure contracts. The Council of Canadians are up in arms regarding our water resources being corporatized and sold to the highest bidder. Steve's biggest criticism is the behind closed doors negotiating and horse trading that is going on. These kinds of deals rarely benefit the majority of citizens despite whatever lies our politicians tell us.

Steve also suggests that it is government deregulation by stealth. Governments become handcuffed by terms in these trade deals which basically force governments to back off regulating industries. Steve also believes that these deals are corporate friendly ones basically giving corporations more power at all levels. The levers of power end up being transferred from public hands to private hands. This is the legacy of deregulation and world wide globalization.

TORONTO G20 INJUSTICES CONTINUE

Last Saturday's Waterloo Region Record carrys this brief story "Police board seeks to appeal G20 class action certification". As one of the participants in the class action stated this behaviour by the Police Board is very disappointing. It does however point out the problems with so called civilian oversight of the Police. The local government (ie. politicians) pick civilians who will not rock the boat. Those that are picked are done so based upon their reliability to go along with the status quo and not to be activists. Here in Waterloo Region it's all about political reliability, name recognition and overall not being an advocate for improvement or change.

The G20 was a stain upon democracy in this country. Mass arrests and detainment simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time is criminal behaviour by our authorities. Now it's been over four years since the police ran roughshod over citizens minding their own business without justice being done. To have the so called civilian board continuing to block accountability through the courts is shameful. When will our idiot authorities begin to understand that it is exactly that kind of undemocratic and arbitrary behaviour that encourages real civil unrest and protest. This country is heading for a rude awakening and the fault lies with our elected and appointed political representatives who have gotten way too big for their britches.

MORE STUPIDITY IN THE WAR ON WEED

Today's Waterloo Region Record advises us of how much money both the Mounties and the Canadian military have been spending on eradicating marijuana. The article is titled "Mounties and military spend millions on weeding out illicit marijuana harvest". Liberal defence critic Joyce Murray has cried foul over the whole deal. As she points out this is all occurring at the same time as two U.S. States have legalized weed and Canadian police chiefs are advocating ticketing possessers of small quantities versus charging them criminally. Our federal government Justice Minister has advised that the federal Conservative government are still assessing the suggestion from the police chiefs. Clearly we the public have been fed a line from our politicians and cops for decades about the harm caused by marijuana. The other issue for me is the hypocrisy of both the Mounties and the Canadian military. Do those brain trusts think that their own members are clear of marijuana use. Look guys clean up your own house if you have to but leave the public the hell alone with your lies and wasteful spending of taxpayers dollars. Don't the Mounties and military have more important and socially positive things they could be doing?

DRIVING IN THE RAIN

Here in Waterloo Region we have the drivers that we tolerate. That generally means distracted, slow and woefully ignorant. Drunk drivers are being discouraged by police enforcement as are fast drivers. Yesterday I drove home from the south end of Kitchener to here in Elmira. I got on the Expressway at Edna/Bruce St. beside Victoria St. The thunderstorm hit within seconds and within mere seconds after that most of the oncoming traffic as well as traffic going my way were invisible. They were invisible not because of zero visibility but because 3/4 of them couldn't find their headlights. Even after a few minutes I would estimate 1/4 of the drivers were driving in the downpour with zero lights on. The ones in front of me I would only see when they stepped on their brakes. This happened frequently as the idiots in front of them also didn't have their headlights on hence the following drivers would see them at the last moment when they got too close. All the way up the highway to Elmira some cars were very visible with headlights on and the others invisible until they passed you by in the oncoming lane. Some day our police will start getting pressure from either intelligent politicians or the Ministry of Transport and lo and bold our accident rates will drop again as everybody's cars suddenly become visible. Apparently police and politicians think citizens will tolerate fines for speeding but not for driving without headlights. This stupidity is proving fatal every day of the week.