Gunning for Change

What's up Cyberspace.

As some of you well know, gun violence has shot to the top of the crime agenda in Halifax. Three shootings in three days in a fairly well-to-do area of the city has all of the mass media and opinion leaders in the city up in arms.

Police chief Frank Beazley has released a message to the citizens of Halifax, which you can read here.

The chief starts his message by saying what a great job the police force has done since 2005, citing the fact that overall crime statistics have gone down every year except 2010. Of course he fails to mention that Halifax has the highest unsolved murder rate in Canada...and I have a sneaking suspicion that Corey Duane Lucas (who was shot and died over the weekend) will be the next to fall under that category.

Good ol' Frank then moves on to say that although crime is going down, there is more violence in our community and it is ever-growing. Not only that, but he says that most of the people involved in this type of crime are known to each other. Call me crazy, but if it's the same people over and over and people known to these repeat offenders...should we maybe put some of them under surveillance? Just a thought. He then goes on to say "As we’ve seen the violence and the shootings increase in our community, we’ve stayed the course with our Crime Reduction Strategy..." Good idea Frank. Why not just say what you mean - we're going to continue doing things that way we have, even though it's not working. Genius.


As the chief continues to illustrate his points, he mentions the Guns and Gangs unit. I did a little bit of research on the Guns and Gangs unit...as of March 5 2012 they had taken 60 guns off the street. They claim to monitor six-eight gangs in the HRM...but some of these supposed gangs have only four members...and some of the members are as young as fifteen. Hmmmm....something seems amiss. You can read the Chronicle Herald article about the Guns and Gangs team (published March 5 2012) here.

As opposed to going through the rest of Frank's message, I'm just going to make my point. The police chief has failed again to hit near the mark - the root of the violence lies in the state of the economy. When push comes to shove, most of us would do whatever it is that we have to do to survive - to provide for ourselves and our families. This message from Frank Beazley seems like some very poorly orchestrated PR and reminds me of Mike Savage's recent CTV interview in which he stated "We need both short-term and long-term solutions..." and offered an example of neither. You can see it here.

I guess this just reminded me of the state of our society. Our leaders are out of touch with the real issues and spend most of their time trying to patch up their last faux pas. I don't really know how to fix it, but I can say this for sure...Halifax is ready for a new regime. Let's pay attention to the mayoral race.

Peace and Love
The Critical Stranger

As always thoughts, comments and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated!

Capitalizing on Necessity

Hey there Cyberspace.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I seem to be writing this blog quite randomly now. I probably should have been a little more dedicated, but alas...I've decided to keep it this way. I feel as though the quality of my posts can only go up if I'm inspired.

And today I was inspired. It's funny how some things stick with you. We were discussing persuasion in class this morning and someone mentioned something about the public opinion of Nova Scotia Power (Emera, I know...I'm still gonna call it NS Power). Obviously this led to a "NS Power is a tyrant" type of discussion which was, although extremely brief, very potent to me.

The thought that invaded my mind was something to the effect of 'Is NS Power worse than any other company in my province?' The answer is no. I thought about Irving...how Irving has asked to up its rates to wholesalers in NS by about 1.3 cents per litre...which would inevitably lead to an increase of more than 1.3 cents per litre for consumers. But no. They didn't fit my criteria either (I don't necessarily HAVE to rely on either of these corporations). It began to dawn on me why these corporations would be among the first to pop into my head.

Obviously it's because of the connotation...everyone thinks these are the worst of all, especially Nova Scotia Power, who actually holds  a monopoly on the energy service in NS (Irving and Sunoco are the only real competitors in the fuel market I believe...but please let me know if you know more) and in a capitalist society, monopolies must be frowned upon. I mean, Bill Gates' Microsoft (please don't comment about him stealing ideas and whatnot) held such a monopoly that the US government essentially deemed it illegal.

Now, when it comes to consumption, we all use power....we all use gas. Are these things completely essential to our survival? It's arguable either way, I'm not going to get into that right now...but there are certain things that are absolutely essential to survival...water, air and food. Water we can get from the tap, even at a public restroom if need be and air is well...air (for now...I'm waiting for someone to bottle it and capitalize, just like in the movie 'The Lorax').

Pretty much everyone I know gets their food from grocery stores. Some of us get stuff at local markets and whatnot, but the majority of people get their food from grocery stores. Grocery stores that buy low, sell high as every retail business does. But should they be allowed to do so, knowing that everyone HAS to have their product in order to survive?

It would really suck, but I could live without power. If I don't want to, there's really only one option for me - NS Power. I could live without gas...it would probably be better for my health if I were to walk or bike everywhere...but I'm far too lazy for that.

I CAN'T live without food. What I can live without is somebody profiting off of that fact. Every single time I leave the grocery store, I look at what I bought, what I think it's worth and how much I've spent. There hasn't been a single time I haven't been disappointed (seemed like an appropriate time for a double negative) and felt as though I should get more bang for my buck.

I would offer a solution, but I'm sure you already know what it is. The government should feed its people. Seems simple enough to me...it should probably be the top priority of any budget. But instead, we'll buy some old fighter jets that we'll probably never use, just like those submarines sitting in Halifax Harbour. Guess what else? If the government employed farmers, almost everything would be local. Transportation costs would go down, food production would go up. If I had no grocery bill, I wouldn't be opposed to paying a food tax. But we all know that this would never be allowed to happen, so I won't offer it as a plausible course of action.

This is getting very long, and I could go on for much longer, but I will choose to end it now. I'll leave you with this to think about the next time you're pushing a cart through Sobeys or Superstore - capitalism means the bottom line trumps all...one corporation is no more guilty than the next...and a government is supposed to take care of the essential needs of the people, that's why it exists.

Peace and Love
The Critical Stranger

As always thoughts, comments and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated!




 

Students in "Cheque-Mate"

Good Morning Cyberspace.

In light of all of the turmoil that's happening in Quebec (and all over Canada - thank you Stephen Harper...Canadians can now pick any issue and have more than enough to bitch about forever) over the post secondary educational system, I've decided to write another blog concerning just that.

You may remember my post Our Right To Education, where I put forth the idea that post-secondary education should be subsidized based on performance. Well, I'm sorry to say, that failed to happen. Instead, tuition rates across the country are about to skyrocket, to the point that literally hundreds of thousands of students have been protesting in the streets of Montreal for over 100 days.

The rest of us should be following suit. I am honestly shocked that the Conservative government would even try to raise tuition fees (I know, I shouldn't be shocked anymore...but I am - especially with the new EI policy, but that's for another time), I mean isn't an education unaffordable enough already?

But then I sat and really thought about it. It soon became obvious why we were ever forced into paying to go to college or university in the first place...to separate the classes. I don't mean classes like philosophy 101, I mean classes like "those peasants are not worth the breath of mentioning." You can sit and try to convince me that they don't exist anymore...but don't bother. You can lie to yourself all you want, but the fact is that there has to be a "lower class" of people. Everybody can't be a doctor or lawyer...we need janitors, we need burger flippers and we need criminals. All of these things keep our society livable...imagine how many jobs exist only because there are criminals in our society?

Equality is a great idea, but I think it only stands to reason that a capitalist society would be quite literally unable to function if everyone were equal. The whole idea behind capitalism is basically sink or swim...but in order to swim you have to first fight your way to the surface. Those who can stay afloat longest essentially gain all of the power in the society...Mayer Amschel Rothschild once said "Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes the laws."

It all makes sense to me now. The elite were the only ones allowed to attend university in our not-so-distant past. Now it will only be the elite who will be able to afford to attend university. But that's the way it has to be. It's a little bit scary to think about. I love playing chess, I'm not too bad at chess - I always imagined myself a knight or a bishop - now I see my only option is to be a pawn.


Peace and Love
The Critical Stranger


As always thoughts, comments and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated!

I'll Take the Black Ones - Everytime

Hello Cyberspace.


Well, I've got to tell ya, I'm just a little disappointed in myself. I'm not the type to be overly concerned with my clothes...I'll wear pretty much anything as long as it doesn't smell like poo. One thing that I do like to keep relatively clean and new-looking, however, is sneakers.

Growing up, I always wore white sneakers. They were bright and shiny for the first couple of weeks; but before long they began to turn yellow, as all white sneakers eventually do. Sometime around the beginning of my high school career, I was convinced to make the switch and start wearing black kicks.

My first pair lasted me two years. Reebok basketball shoes. I usually don't have any problem with premature wear on my shoes, but would retire a pair due to the stains that I couldn't get off. 

Then I was introduced to the toothbrush cleaning method. This brought me back to the white shoe world of possibility...because let's be honest, there should only be three colours of men's shoes - black, white and brown.

Let me get to the point. My shoes are now white, and covered in red dust from the MotoCross race I attended over the weekend. I need to get out the old toothbrush. I remember now why I stopped buying white shoes. When I can afford it again, I'll be getting some black sneakers again. I'm way too lazy for this whiteness.

Peace and Love
The Critical Stranger

PS - This was inspired by a poem about old age...I finally understand it now.


How do I know my youth has been spent?
'Cause my "get-up-and-go" got up and went!
But in spite of all that, I'm able to grin
when I think of where my "get-up-and-go" has been!

Old age is golden. I've heard it said.
But sometimes I wonder as I go to bed--
my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup,
my eyes on the table until I wake up.

When I was young, my slippers were red.
I could kick my heels up over my head.
When I grew older, my slippers were blue,
but I could still dance the whole night through.

Now I am old. My slippers are black.
I walk to the corner and puff my way back.
The reason I know my youth has been spent--
my "get-up-and-go" got up and went!

I get up each mornin' and dust off my wits;
pick up the paper and read the obits.
If my name is missin', I know I ain't dead,
so I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.

-Anonymous
 

A World Of Possibilities

Happy Short Work Week Cyberspace. I went to my cousin's first Motocross race over the weekend...he did very well. My biggest complaint is that I chose to wear white shoes, which are now victims of the red dust of the track. Looking at them this morning got me thinking about colours and their impact on our world.

“What’s your favourite colour Daddy?”

My daughter asks this question at least once a month. My answer is always the same – orange and blue, but I like ‘em all. I can never answer the inevitable why that follows.

It’s strange, the power that colour holds. Orange transports me back to sitting on my couch as a kid watching Michealangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…we’ve had many great times together. Blue takes me back to Grade 4, when I moved to Eastern Passage and lived next to the ocean for the first time – I can still remember the peaceful, soothing crash of the waves against the shore. The yellow walls in my Grandmother’s kitchen come into focus in my mind’s eye whenever I smell fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Pink reminds me of the fuzzy blanket that my little girl was wrapped up in the first time I ever held her in my arms. We all see things differently and every colour means something different to each and every one of us.

The colours that we decide to be surrounded by say a lot about us as individuals. There is nothing as unique as the colour scheme of your home. I chose mine to speak for me – you can do the same. They can say “Hello world! Welcome to my home!” or they can say “This is the quiet room.”

We all use colour to reflect our mood, our personality and ultimately ourselves. My daughter, for example, chose her own clothes to wear to school today – everything was purple. I asked her why and she replied “I don’t know – I just feel purple today.” And who could argue with that?

I guess what I’m trying to say is that colour is as unique as you or I. You may choose to spend your vacation cooking under the sun on a white sandy beach…I may spend mine going on an African safari. You may choose a white vanity to go along with light blue paint for your bathroom, while I would be more inclined to use orange on the walls with a black vanity. It depends on you…what you like, what you want and what you need.

Colour has had so much impact on me. It has enhanced and defined some of the major events in my life. The birth of my daughter, my time in the desert, recuperating from a smashed pelvis in a hospital bed -   the colours have told me a story…the colours have told my story. Pick your narrator…it’s time for your  next chapter.    

Hustle and Bustle

Hi Cyberspace,

I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but I seem to be struggling to keep up with blogging everyday.  Yesterday's blog wasn't even written originally as a blog post, but I liked it so I decided to put it up. In light of the many distractions (especially the NHL and NBA playoffs), I've decided to write a poem about the scatterbrained type of life we all seem to live.

Daylight; the rays break through my curtain
I don't want to get up
I work up the courage;
Only the bravest can leave their sanctuaries.

I fear the hustle and bustle.

Outside; surrounded by the masses
I am a trailblazing pioneer on this sidewalk.
The current; I fight my way against it
Eventually I'll get there.

I fight through the hustle and bustle.

Fluorescent lights; is that the colour of my skin?
The air conditioning hurts my sinuses
Phones; Computers; Televisions;
We love our electronic lives.

I am a slave to the hustle and bustle.

Murmurs; Words; Tweets; Emails;
I over-read some conversations; my language is dying.
Manners have flown the coop;
We are all just running chickens.

Screw the hustle and bustle - I'm going back to bed.

Peace and Love
The Critical Stranger

As always thoughts, comments and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated!

The Natural Path

Canadians spend $24 billion dollars a year on prescription drugs. That’s six billion dollars more per annum than we spend on doctors. The only difference between prescription drugs and poison is dosage. There are thought to be approximately 10,000 deaths in Canada outside of hospitals caused by patients taking the wrong drug, the wrong dosage or adverse reactions.

Most of these prescriptions are composed of chemicals that the average person can’t even pronounce, let alone have any idea where they come from. Yet we put these pills into our bodies without a second thought because our doctor tells us it’ll help.

The reality of the situation is that the clinical lab tests do not actually measure the effect of the drug itself. It is not tested against whatever prescription already exists; it is measured only against the effectiveness of a sugar pill. What would you say if the doctor told you that the best treatment for your disease is to eat two lumps of sugar twice a day?

I say it’s time to stop the days of Mary Poppins medicine. Be it ancient Aboriginal ancestral knowledge or those “Old Wives’ Tales,” the treatments are often effective…that’s why they still exist.

There are many advantages to Naturopathic Medicine. First of all, herbal remedies come from plants. Plants grow with soil, water and light from the sun. I know what those things are and seeing as all of our sustenance originates from plants, I have no qualms putting something like that into my body.

Another advantage to natural medicine is the lack of side effects. You know those commercials for the latest pill that will make your life ten times better instantly? They’re always followed by a voice or text rolling on the screen that is something to the effect of “Side effects may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, vertigo, memory loss, loss of appetite, dementia, headaches and fever.” If your drugs come from plants that don’t cause those effects - then the drugs won’t have those effects.

Taking prescription drugs can help you. It can also hinder you and often does. The amount of complications that arise from prescriptions grows larger every year, as does the amount of prescriptions written and the amount of revenue brought in from the prescription drug industry. I don’t know what’s inside of any prescription I’ve ever taken…and that’s an extremely scary thought to me. So before you reach  out and grab a pill bottle, at least take a little bit of time to look into some Naturopathic cures…a few minutes now could save you a lifetime later.