Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Men's Rights Activists advocate for 'human rights' with rape and death threats

The latest from A Voice For Men’s “activism” files is a smear campaign against a protester they are calling “Big Red.” “Big Red” (nothing sexist about that name) is a woman who dared to speak out (USING SWEAR WORDS, OH NO) against Men’s Rights Activists’ anti-feminist agenda.

For those who are unfamiliar with this situation, earlier in April a Men’s Rights Activist (MRA) group called the Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) sponsored a lecture at the University of Toronto where there were talks by Janice Fiamengo about how feminism is mean. Specifically, a “mean-spirited bias against men in the humanities.”

Confronting inequality in Ontario with a public service budget

In yesterday's speech, Finance Minister Sousa pledged to keep taxes at their current levels, and hold government spending growth to 1 per cent. This was a profoundly disappointing announcement. There is no fiscal or economic reason for this policy stance, and a different approach will have both economic and social benefits.

The fiscal situation

Minister Sousa stated that Ontario is ahead on its deficit reduction plan, and the deficit will be $9.8 billion for this fiscal year, $5 billion lower than forecast in the budget. The table above shows interest payments as a share of revenues and the accumulated deficit as a share of GDP. Both of these are important measures of fiscal health of the province.

Guantanamo Hunger Strike Holds, Half Of Detainees Involved: Military

Over half of Guantanamo's 166 detainees are officially recognized as hunger strikers, a military spokesman on the remote Navy base said Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Sam House said that 84 Guantanamo detainees were on a hunger strike, the same number as were recognized on Monday. Seventeen of the detainees were being force-fed and four of that group were in the hospital. The numbers have grown since a raid on Guantanamo's Camp Six earlier this month.

The military's Muslim advisor told a small group of reporters in Guantanamo last week that more than one detainee would die before the hunger strike ended.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author: Ryan J. Reilly

Poverty Stalks The Suburbs

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- There's nothing Deidre Duffy would rather do than host a backyard barbecue for a few friends.

"I don't want anything fancy," Duffy, 53, said in an interview next to her black Weber grill. "Give me some charcoal and I'm going to shoot those flames about six feet high, and when they come down -- it's my favorite thing."
Not long ago, she imagined she'd be watching from the hammock with a belly full of grilled food as the sun set over her new back fence, and then in the darkness she'd keep warm by the fire pit with classic rock from the den wafting through the screen door.

How Obama Learned to Love the Bomb

In the winter of 2012, President Obama stood on a podium at the National Defense University to honor the 20th anniversary of a program that successfully dismantled nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union, declaring, "We simply cannot allow the 21st century to be darkened by the worst weapons of the 20th century." He reaffirmed his commitment to continue investing in nonproliferation, because "our national security depends on it." But his administration's recently released budget proposal reflects the opposite agenda: It makes big cuts to nuclear nonproliferation programs while beefing up funding for the United States' nuclear-weapons stockpile.

The Koch Brothers' Plans for Their Upcoming GOP Donor Retreat

Next week, hundreds of business executives and wealthy conservative donors will arrive in Palm Springs, California, at the behest of Charles Koch, the billionaire industrialist and older half of the Koch brothers duo. The occasion is the latest Koch donor retreat, dubbed the "billionaires caucus" by some, an exclusive, two-day confab with a speaker list that features governors, senators, and members of the House Republican leadership. It is the first Koch retreat since the 2012 elections.

Canadian House Prices 62 Per Cent Higher Than U.S. Prices: BMO

Canadians complain about the price gap between U.S. and local stores, but here’s the biggest price gap of them all: housing.

According to an analysis from BMO Capital Markets economist Doug Porter, Canadians now pay 62 per cent more for housing than Americans.

The Canada that Lester Pearson built

Lester Bowles Pearson would have been 116 years old today (April 23). Were he alive yesterday, he would have observed the 50th anniversary of his coming to power.

He was turning 66 when he and the Liberal Party took office on April 22, 1963. In a time the lifespan of an average Canadian man was just 67, Pearson was old, like so many of his foreign contemporaries: Harold Macmillan, Nikita Khrushchev, Charles de Gaulle, Konrad Adenauer.

Targets of 'anti-terrorism' Bill S-7 could include innocent bystanders

If you had to pick a day to oppose legislation that describes itself as anti-terrorist, Monday, April 22 might not have been the best one.

NDP MPs will be voting against the government's Bill S-7 not because they are utterly opposed to giving the government any enhanced powers to thwart terrorists, but because they honestly believe there are serious flaws on this proposed legislation.

That is an honourable position to take.

Via terror plot suspects deny allegations

Two men accused of trying to carry out an al-Qaeda supported plot to derail a Via passenger train made separate court appearances in different provinces today, with early indications that both will likely plead not guilty to the charges.

"He's in a state of shock and disbelief," lawyer John Norris said of his client, 35-year-old Raed Jaser, speaking to crowds of reporters outside the Toronto courthouse.