Excited Delirium

Stories about Excited Delirium, the Shock Economy and a little fiction here and there.

Monthly Archives: December 2009

“The War In Afghanistan Is A Racket”

Dennis Kucinich, Senate representative from Ohio, slams efforts in Afghanistan, identifying that “that the war in Afghanistan is a racket”.

Despite Slippery Steve having run out the clock on Parliament for 2009, Canadians have a right to know if we are involved with similar activities.  Are we simply supporting a war on the other side of the planet in order to keep war lords in power?  To what extent are these war lords throwing Canadian soldiers in harm’s way?  Are efforts to obfuscate the truth in Afghanistan efforts to obscure Canada’s involvement in these and other elibit activities?

We have a right to know.

We have a right to a full investigation of everythign related to Afghanistan.  Everything.

Canada Reaching Up to Touch Bottom (II): Stephen Harper Vows to Derail CO2 Talks

Stephen Harper has declared that no sacrifices will be made in order to salvage Canada’s ailing economy.

From this article, Stephen Harper said he will:

…use Canada’s co-chairmanship of next year’s Group of 20 countries meeting to urge members to put economic recovery before efforts to protect the environment.

Slippery Steve is at it again, only this time embarassing all Canadians with his perverse love of oil and joins Sarah Palin in ‘going rogue’.

Once again, Canada will be reaching up to touch bottom and will be the international ‘bad guy’ when it comes to climate talks.

Canada Reaching Up to Touch Bottom: Natynczyk Changes Story on Detainees

Canada.

Oh, Canada.

Where have you gone?

Under the Cons, we are international pariahs.

We are an embarassment.

We are in the early stages of facing constant and repeated humiliation.

Today, Walter Natynczyk drastically altered his public account of Canada’s activity and knowledge of torture and abuse of Afghani detainees.  Original CBC story here.

Shortly after, Peter Mackay (current Minister of Defence), Gordon O’Connor (former Minister of Defence) and Lawrence Cannon (current Minister of Foreign Affairs) all sat before the Commons Committee on the Afghan Mission repeating their stories that they knew nothing about the situation.

As I’ve said before, Slippery Steve will NOT be part of these discussions, but given the level of control exerted by the PMO, it’s imperative that the Opposition find something that will stick to him.

Our future as a nation depends on it.

Kennedy Slams RCMP (And Another Public Servant Gets Skewered)

Paul Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, issued a report yesterday concerning his opinion of what happened on the night that Robert Dziekanski died in Vancouver.

Full story here.

Among his observations were the following:

  • “Use of the (stun gun) against Mr. Dziekanski was premature and inappropriate,” Kennedy said, dismissing police claims that Dziekanski posed a serious threat.

  • He sharply criticized the Mounties for wanting to delay the release of the commission’s report, and for failing to adopt earlier recommendations on the use of Taser stun guns that were issued following the 2007 incident.

  • Kennedy also warned the iconic national police force that its risked losing the public’s trust over its handling of the case.

Meanwhile, our Canadian government does nothing besides maybe finding ways to fund research into ‘excited delirium’.  In fact, the parting comment from the Reuters article (below) is that Kennedy’s feedback may have cost him his job.

From Reuters:

Canada’s Mounties slammed in fatal Taser case

By Allan Dowd

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec 8 (Reuters) – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police acted prematurely and inappropriately in their use of electronic stun guns in an incident at Vancouver airport that led to death of a Polish immigrant, a government commission reported on Tuesday.

Robert Dziekanski died in October 2007 shortly after he was repeatedly shocked with a Taser stun gun and subdued by RCMP officers. A bystander’s video of Dziekanski screaming on the floor as he died was broadcast around the world, drawing public outrage and contradicting initial police statements that they shot him after having to wrestle him to the ground.

The four Mounties who confronted Dziekanski at the airport had no plan when they arrived on the scene, and did not warn him before they fired, said Paul Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

“Use of the (stun gun) against Mr. Dziekanski was premature and inappropriate,” Kennedy said, dismissing police claims that Dziekanski posed a serious threat.

He sharply criticized the Mounties for wanting to delay the release of the commission’s report, and for failing to adopt earlier recommendations on the use of Taser stun guns that were issued following the 2007 incident.

Kennedy also warned the iconic national police force that its risked losing the public’s trust over its handling of the case.

Dziekanski, who did not speak English, had just arrived in Canada to join his mother and became distraught after a communications mixup left him stranded for hours in the airport’s luggage pickup area with no explanation of what he should do. Police were called following reports of a man creating a disturbance.

The RCMP officers called to the scene waited less than 30 second before using a Taser stun gun and shocked Dziekanski repeatedly without determining if the further shocks were needed, the report said.

The exact cause of Dziekanski’s death has not been determined, and weapon-maker Taser International (TASR.O) says there is no evidence its device was responsible.

Kennedy said he did not find the police officers’ explanations of what happened credible, but he did not think they broke the law or planned to injure or kill Dziekanski when they arrived.

He also released a copy of a letter from the RCMP asking him to delay releasing the report until after the results of a separate British Columbia inquiry are completed next year.

Kennedy normally allows the Mounties time respond before releasing his reports, but said public interest this time was too high and waiting for the police had delayed the release of some previous reports by more than year.

“I am not impressed,” Kennedy said, holding a copy of the letter in which the RCMP said it was not ready yet to respond.

How the renowned police force responds to his findings and those of the upcoming provincial report “will have a profound impact on how the iconic institution is viewed by Canadians,” Kennedy warned.

The Conservative federal government has said it will not renew Kennedy’s contract at the end of the year, but he dismissed reporters suggestions on Tuesday that the decision was linked to this report. (Reporting by Allan Dowd; editing by Rob Wilson)

NDP Calls for Peter Mackay to Step Aside

Earlier today, the NDP issued a press release calling for the resignation of Peter Mackay.

This is not a surprising announcement.

What’s important is that the NDP keep up the pressure on the Harper Regime, all the while trying to differentiate themselves from the Liberals so that they can rise above this mess when there is an election (and there will be one soon).

What’s even more important is that they find a way to connect the PMO with what’s happened in Afghanistan.  Unfortunately, Harper is probably quite delighted that his old rival, Peter Mackay, will take the fall for this mess.

In fact, if you’re a Conservative, consider this:  why is it that nothing ever sticks to our Teflon PM?  Do you really enjoy working in an such an intensely toxic environment where nothing ever actually gets done and your leader constantly throws his supporters to the sharks like minnows at mid-day feeding time?

Remind yourself:  what matters to Harper?  Harper and absolutely nothing else.

Taser Blinks

I remember the expression ‘Coke Blinked’ when they launched New Coke in the era of the ‘Cola Wars’.

Well, yesterday it seems like Taser International blinked when they announced to the public that tasers should be aimed at the shoulders, legs or arms of a suspect instead of the chest area.

Original story from the CBC here.

After hearing about ‘excited delirium’ and other reviews from the world’s “scienticians”, we now have the company admitting to ‘a slight risk of cardiac arrest when the electrified darts’ hit suspects in the chest.

What’s fascinating about this story is the reality that many officers simply aren’t arming themselves with Taser any more.  There are rumours of them leaving this weapon in their locker, raising another critical question:  Should the public continue to pay for something that our security forces won’t use?

Cons Negotiating Secret Draconian ACTA Deal

The Conservatives have been busy negotiating a secret with deal with ACTA (the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement).

For those who are not familiar with the ACTA, here’s a quick recap:

  1. The intended goal is to protect copyright materials.
  2. It forces ISPs to engage in warrant-free inspection of your online activities.
  3. Infringement of the conditions of the ACTA will result in removal of Internet access for up to three years.

What the ACTA represents is protection.  Protection for failed business models.  Protection for fascists that don’t want to provide reasons why they’re stripping Internet users of their right to access the world’s best invention since the wheel.  Protection of the right to cow people into submission.

People:  this pile of steaming hot turd for all Canadian Internet users must be resisted.  If you know of specific lobby actions, please post them in the comments below.

In the interim, here’s the full release from Charlie Angus, NDP MP from Timmins-James Bay (and another story here):

Please read below for the text of the press release from Charlie Angus, :

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 1st, 2009

SECRET ACTA NEGOTIATIONS WOULD CRIMINALIZE CANADIAN INTERNET USE

New Democrats call on government to come clean on covert negotiations

OTTAWA – A secret agreement being negotiated by the Harper Conservatives would allow corporations to deny internet access to Canadian citizens if they are accused on three occasions of improper downloading, says New Democrat Digital Issues Critic Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay).

The “three strikes and you’re out” policy would criminalize thousands of everyday Canadians without justification and without anything being proved in court.

“The agreement, which is being hammered out by Canadian trade negotiators, would completely override Canada’s domestic copyright policies.  It reads like a wish list for the U.S. corporate lobby. It overrides any flexibility in WIPO implementation,” says Angus. “It guts domestic copyright protections and imposes a mandatory ‘three-strike’ policy that would rob thousands of average Canadians from access to the internet.”

Speaking in the House of Commons today during Question Period, Angus said the Anti-Counterfeiting and Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations make a mockery of the government’s public consultation process on establishing new copyright legislation.

“The EU has leaked details of Canada’s involvement in the secret ACTA treaty negotiations. And guess what?  It has exposed the Conservative government’s so-called public consultation process on new copyright policy as a total sham.”

“Canadians need a Minister who will stand up for Canadian interests, not a hand puppet for the U.S. Embassy and corporate lobby,” he said. “Will the Minister come clean with Canadians, table the ACTA negotiation mandate letter in the House and admit he is using a foreign treaty to strip this Parliament from a transparent process of balanced copyright reform?”

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For more information, please contact:

Marc-André Viau, press secretary, 613-295-9228 or viaumar@parl.gc.ca

POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE

LE 1er DÉCEMBRE 2009

NÉGOCIATIONS SECRÈTES SUR L’Accord commercial relatif à la contrefaçon (ACRC) OU COMMENT TRANSFORMER DES CITOYENS ORDIANIRES EN CRIMINELS

Le NPD demande au gouvernement de dévoiler ses secrets

OTTAWA – Le gouvernement de Stephen Harper négocie présentement une entente secrète pour permettre aux entreprises de refuser l’accès aux citoyens canadiens à Internet s’ils ont été accusés à trois reprises de téléchargement inadéquat, affirme le porte-parole du NPD en matière de questions numériques, Charlie Angus (Timmins-Baie James).

L’approche selon laquelle vous êtes retiré sur trois prises équivaut à traiter des milliers de Canadiens comme des criminels, le tout sans justification et sans preuve.

« L’entente, élaborée par des négociateurs commerciaux canadiens, aurait préséance sur les politiques canadiennes de droits d’auteur », a déclaré Charlie Angus. « Cette entente correspond aux demandes des lobbys américains. Elle compromet toute flexibilité dans la mise en œuvre des politiques de l’Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI) », a souligné M. Angus. « Par ailleurs, l’entente secrète va à l’encontre des mesures de protection canadienne des droits d’auteur et impose une politique de « retrait sur trois prises » qui empêcherait des milliers de Canadiens d’avoir accès à Internet ».

Durant la période de questions à la Chambre des communes, M. Angus a souligné aujourd’hui que les négociations sur l’ACRC constituent un affront au processus gouvernemental de consultation publique concernant l’élaboration d’une nouvelle loi sur les droits d’auteur.

« L’Union européenne a laissé échapper des détails relatifs à la position du gouvernement lors des négociations secrètes du traité de l’ACRC. Et vous savez quoi ? Cette fuite a exposé le faux processus consultatif du gouvernement conservateur relatif à la nouvelle politique sur les droits d’auteur », a déclaré Charlie Angus à la Chambre des communes.

« Les Canadiens doivent avoir un ministre qui défendra leurs intérêts, pas un ministre qui sera une marionnette à la solde des lobbys et de l’Ambassade américaine », a dénoncé le député du NPD. « Le ministre aura-t-il l’honnêteté de déposer dans cette Chambre la lettre qui précise le mandat des négociateurs canadiens concernant l’ACRC ? Le gouvernement avouera-t-il qu’il utilise un traité étranger pour contourner le processus transparent et soutirer à ce Parlement le privilège de déterminer les règles d’une réforme équitable des droits d’auteur ? ».

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Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec :

Marc-André Viau, attaché de presse, 613-295-9228 ou viaumar@parl.gc.ca

CRTC TV Feedback Opportunity

With all things related to feedback to our government, you should take things with a grain of salt.

That said, the CRTC is encouraging feedback on local TV issues, fee-for-carriage and other problems related to our broadcasters.

The link is here.

A summary of my basic feedback:  we can do better (to steal an oh-so inspirational line from Iggy).

The details:  We can leverage the power of the Internet and user interaction to create content that will rival anything developed in the international community.  We have many different, diverse voices in this country and all we seem to get is watered down and outrageously expensive pablum from the US.

Our broadcasters have been lazy, boring and dull for decades.  More frustrating for the country’s progressives:  they’ve been spewing biased vitriol for years under the guidance of Herr Harper and they are actively ruining our sense of democracy by taking our taxpayer dollars in the form of propaganda for the Harper Regime or for slagging the opposition leaders.

Unfortunately, now that they face a little competition, they’re running to the CRTC with their hands out begging for cash, whining about how the big bad Internet is stealing their business.

Conclusion:  if you don’t want to pay for local content, pull the plug.  Cancel your cable subscription (or satellite).  If you want local content, plug in to what your friends and peers are saying on social networks online.