Sandra Finley

Ch. 40, Istanbul: Tools of Modern Empire, The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (EHM), John Perkins, 2016.

 Bank of Canada vs Canada Infrastructure Bk, Banksters, Privatization & Trade Deals, COMER, Corruption, Culture and Ethics, Economy / Political Economy, Food, Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Genetically Modified, Health, John Perkins, Knowledge Base, Leadership, Occupy Movement, Peace or Violence, Sustainability, Technology, Trade Deals, PPPs, Integration Canada-U.S., Water  No Responses »
Apr 262017
 

Banksters: Index

See also, excerpts from Chapters 34 and 38:

Ch. 34, New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins, 2016.

Ch. 38, Your Friendly Banker as EHM. The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (EHM), John Perkins, 2016.

Click on the small grey text at the top of this posting, John Perkins (category) for videos with John Perkins.

Now to Chapter 40, Excerpts.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

CHAPTER 40   Istanbul: Tools of Modern Empire 

P.  249:    In the 1970s, economic hit men were executives and consultants at a few multinational corporations and consulting companies.  Today’s EHMs are executives and consultants at thousands of multinational corporations, consulting companies, investment funds, industry groups, and associations – – as well as an army of lobbyists that represents all of these.

. . .   I thought about the core tools we EHMs used in my day: false economics that included distorted financial analyses, inflated projections, and rigged accounting books; secrecy, deception, threats, bribes, and extortion; false promises that we never intended to honor; and enslavement through debt and fear. These same tools are used today. Now, as then, the glue that holds all of this together is the belief that any means are justified to achieve the desired ends.

A major change is that this EHM system, today, is also at work in the US and other economically developed countries.  It is everywhere. And there are many more variations on each of these tools. There are hundreds of thousands more EHMs spread around the world. They have created a truly global empire. They are working in the open as well as in the shadows. This system has become so widely and deeply entrenched that it is the normal way of doing business and therefore is not alarming to most people.

These men and women convince government officials to give them favorable tax and regulatory treatment. They force countries to compete against one another for the opportunity to host their facilities. Their ability to locate their production plants in one country, their tax-sheltered banking in a second, their phone call centers in a third, and their headquarters in a fourth gives them immense leverage.  Countries must vie with one another to offer the most lenient environmental and social regulations and the lowest wage and tax rates.  In many cases, governments swamp themselves with debt so they can offer perks to subsidize corporations. In the past decade we’ve watched this happen to countries such as Iceland, Spain, Ireland, and Greece, in addition to the economically developing countries, where it has been going on longer. When the subtler approaches fail, government officials learn that some damaging aspect of their personal lives, which they thought was secret, will be exposed even, in some cases, fabricated.

INSERT:  The film, “Snowden” by Oliver Stone contains scenes that illustrate the how and what of the use of personal information by the NSA / CIA / EHMs as a tool for coercion.  The movie trailer is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlSAiI3xMh4.   Aside:  The young woman who plays Snowden’s girl friend is Shailene Woodley.   You may recognize her from her role at Standing Rock (resistance to the Dakota Access Pile Line).

Another change is evident in the justification used for the EHM tactics. Then, it was protecting the world from Communist takeover, from the Vietcong and other revolutionary groups, or from threats to our affluent American way of life. Today, the justification is stopping terrorists, fighting Islamic extremists, promoting economic growth, or saving our affluent way of life. . . .

“You spell it out in your book,” Uluc said. “Economics is the key to power.”

I pointed at a passing freighter. “Trade.”

“Yes. And debt.” he smiled.

. . . “You emphasize that your job was to bind countries with debt.” “Fear and debt. The two most powerful tools of empire.” “Most everybody thinks military might is the driver of empire, but war’s important because it – – and the threat of it – – instills fear. People are terrified into parting with their money. They take on more debt.”   Whether we owe money or favors, debt shackles us. That’s why the economic hit man approach is so effective. More so than war.”

P.  251:   tells what happened to Gadhafi, Libya.

P.  252:   Uluc continuing:  “It happened here, too, you know. (Turkey) The US played a deciding role in the 1980 coup in my country.”   We talked about how President Carter had sent 3,000 troops to support the coup, and $4 billion in aid.  In typical EHM fashion, some of the money had been filtered through NATO and the OECD.   Following the coup, the IMF stepped in to support privatization and takeovers by big business. “Turkey bought into the game of what you call the corporatocracy.”

I pointed out that the globalizing corporate network had destabilized the world economy, building it on wars or threat of war, debt, and abuse of the earth’s resources – – a death economy.  “Less than 5 percent of the world’s population lives in the US, and we consume more than 25 percent of the resources, while half the world suffers from desperate poverty.  That’s not a model. It can’t be replicated – – not by China, India, Brazil, Turkey, or any other country, no matter how hard they try.”

Yes. Fear, debt, and another very important strategy: divide and conquer.   . . .   how civil wars and tribal factions create power vacuums that open the doors to exploitation. “In such disputes both parties take on more debt, buy more arms, destroy resources and infrastructure, and then accept even more debt to finance reconstruction. We’re seeing it throughout the Middle East, in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan . . . So many countries are the building blocks for billionaires.”

I asked what he thought it would take to transform the death economy into a life economy. “You have to go after the businessmen, the CEOs and major stockholders of the multinationals that run the world.   They are the roots of the problem.”

 (flying home, looking down on the Mediterranean) …

I felt a growing sense of anger. Our business and government leaders were taking the EHM system way beyond anything imaginable in my time – – or in the era of the feudal emperors who, during the so-called Dark Ages, ruled the lands beneath my plane.

. . . historians would look back on the post-9/11 era as an even darker age.

. . . we in the US are told that we must fear scarcity, should buy more, work harder, keep accumulating, bury ourselves in more and more debt.  Goes beyond personal to become an aspect of national patriotism – – our country must amass increasing amounts of the world’s resources.  Assured that the debt used to finance the military is necessary for our own good – – the same argument that has been used on the subjects of those feudal emperors.

. . . when we point out that military spending reduces our benefits, we are told that social programs encourage indolence, whereas programs that support armies, subsidize windfall profits, and encourage corporate barons to speculate with our tax dollars fuel the engines of economic growth – – that top-down economics works, despite the overwhelming evidence of the past decade to the contrary.

. … how, after 9/11 , the EHM system came home to roost.  The use of debt and fear, the Patriot Act, the militarization of police forces, a vast array of new surveillance technologies, the infiltration and sabotage of the Occupy movement, and the draconian expansion of privatized prisons have strengthened the US government’s ability to marginalize those who oppose it.  Giant, corporate-funded political action committees (PACs), reinforced by (Supreme Court decision) Citizens United and other court decisions, and billionaires like the Koch brothers, who finance groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), subvert the democratic process and win elections by flooding the media with propaganda. They hire cadres of lawyers, lobbyists, and strategists to legalize corruption and to influence every level of government.

 

2017-04-23 If you want to understand Justin Trudeau (Bill Morneau) decisions re CETA, industrial agriculture, etc. try this. CBC Radio, Sunday Edition.

 Bank of Canada vs Canada Infrastructure Bk, Banksters, Privatization & Trade Deals, COMER, Economy / Political Economy, Food, Genetically Modified  3 Responses »
Apr 232017
 

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/april-23-2017-the-sunday-edition-with-michael-enright-1.4076347/shoring-up-canada-s-economic-future-a-conversation-with-dominic-barton-1.4076370

Listen to the interview.  :    Listen 29:17

Provide your feedback to the CBC:   http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/contact

Dominic Barton was appointed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau as chair of the Government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth.

RELATED POSTINGS:   typed-up excerpts from John Perkins’  2016 “New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”   and Joyce Nelson’s book, “Beyond Banksters:  Resisting the New Feudalism”.

Barton –   now based in London, England, where he’s the managing director of McKinsey and Company—the world’s most prominent consulting company, with 25,000 employees working with businesses, NGOs and governments around the world. 

Dominic Barton, chair of an advisory committee to federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

Dominic Barton, chair of an advisory committee to federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

 Listen 29:17

Justin Trudeau came to power with a pledge to make life better for Canada’s middle class: better jobs and better economic growth and security.

Not exactly revolutionary stuff. It would be hard to think of a political leader who didn’t promise a better economic future for the middle class.

But if there were a widely agreed upon formula to make that happen, we might not have the growing gap between the one per cent and everyone else.

Well-paying jobs wouldn’t be disappearing. And middle class anxiety would not be boiling over into populist political movements.

The Liberal government is looking for suggestions.

And it is looking to Dominic Barton to provide them.

“People want to see real stories. They don’t want to hear the statistics.”– Dominic Barton

Mr. Barton was appointed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau as chair of the Advisory Council on Economic Growth. He has been tasked with helping to “create conditions for long-term growth and a strong middle class.”

The Advisory Council has released two reports so far, in February and last October.

It has recommended establishing a national infrastructure bank, increasing foreign investment in Canada, increasing immigration levels, fostering greater innovation, raising the retirement age, pursuing more trade with China, and training people for the jobs of tomorrow.

More broadly, Barton sees a Canadian economy that needs to change dramatically—and quickly—to adapt to a rapidly changing global economy, political instability and changing demographics.

“We’re talking about how we move the bottom groups up — in a world that is going to get worse for them because of automation.”– Dominic Barton

Dominic Barton was born in Uganda, grew up in British Columbia and is now based in London, England, where he’s the managing director of McKinsey and Company—the world’s most prominent consulting company, with 25,000 employees working with businesses, NGOs and governments around the world.

From his vantage point in the highest echelons of global finance and business, he sees capitalism itself as being in a crisis of its own making—one that could potentially lead to its own undoing if it doesn’t reform itself and address the concerns of the many millions of people who feel left behind or cheated by it.

Click ‘listen’ above to hear Michael’s interview with Dominic Barton.

2017-04-21 On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. 2017, by Timothy Snyder

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Take back the University  No Responses »
Apr 222017
 

I used (quoted from)  Lessons 10, 8, and 2 (On Tyranny  Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century).

Scroll down to the high-lighted text.

– – – – – – – – –

Hi Sandra,

Sacrosanct ideologies (vaccines; sexual victimization of young people by women isn’t a problem – – it’s only done by men; universities),  are so easy to disassemble, yet the mainstream followers can’t self-examine.  To quote Jordan Peterson, “”It’s like we’re stuck in the fantasy of a naive 13 year old girl.  There is no willingness to face one’s internal monsters, let alone enthusiasm.”

Ref … https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VJMCQ94t98k

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –  –

REPLY

A reply is risky,  I haven’t watched all of the video.   Just the first 16 minutes of 2 hours.  Nonetheless,

So far,  my responses.

From perspective of elected member of University of Saskatchewan Senate for the allowable 2 terms (6 years), completed a year ago.  And pointing out that I sought election because of my concerns over corporate takeover of many Universities, including the U of S.   It’s also an issue at the U of T.   Dr. Pederson will be familiar with the Dr. Nancy Oliveri / Apotex (Big Pharma) scandal, as example.

I understood Jordan Pederson to say that left-wing activists are pushing the University away from science and reasoned discourse.

I would like to offer another interpretation.  A corporatized university with corporate ethics pushes the University away from science and reasoned discourse:

  1. Jordan Pederson’s description of what happened to him at the hands of the U of T  Administration echoes what happened to me.   I received a letter from the University’s lawyer threatening that the University would bring the full force of the law against me if (blah, blah, blah).  It was a foolish way to deal with  (what?   a left-wing activist if you use stereotypes?).

What I challenged:  very serious conflicts-of-interest.   The Chair of the Board having more than a million dollars’ worth of shares in the nuke industry (Cameco) and not recusing herself when the Province was earmarking its contributions to the University for programs that benefited the nuke industry (issue of university autonomy).  All this at a time when Cameco shares (the shares of the Chair of the Board) were nose-diving because of Fukushima.  The Chair of the U Board has been on the Cameco Board since 1992.  Total compromise of University autonomy and the responsibility to uphold its autonomy.  While the President shouts “There is no conflict-of-interest.”

The University is accustomed to its influential, unassailable status  – –  a sacrosanct institution.   It now has a corporatized ethic.   And is the handmaid of corporations.   The students are a resource to be mined.

The U of T’s actions vis-à-vis Jordan Pederson  (not smart)  are understandable in the same light as the U of S’s actions vis-à-vis me  (not smart – the President acted as a tyrant):   the motivation and actions of the Administration are thoroughly corporate.   They  make total sense in that light.

Many of the people (me, for example) labeled as “Left-wing activists” have a role to play.   So do people like Jordan Pederson.

In my case, I replied to the lawyer that the mafia uses the threat of broken bones to intimidate and coerce.   Corporations use the threat of a lawsuit to break a person financially, the same tactic.    And now the University is using the same.   My communication included damning evidence.   All in all the University embarrassed itself.

What did they learn?   I didn’t go to the media,  they would not have written about it anyway.   But I do blog and have a network for sharing information.

They might have learned to be smarter in how they exercise their powers.   Which is worse than being stupid in how they exercise their powers.

2.   I hate to reduce things to “The 5 This or the 10 That”,  but there is a quick framework to draw on   – – Ref:  On Tyranny  Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, 2017, by Timothy Snyder.  (A little pocketbook that costs Cdn $11).      

 

    1. Lesson #10,  Believe in truth  is exemplified by Jordan Pederson.  He should be celebrated.  You submit to tyranny when you renounce the difference between what you want to hear and what is actually the case.   This renunciation of reality can feel natural and pleasant, but the result is your demise as an individual – and thus the collapse of any political system that depends upon individualism.  As observers of totalitarianism such as Victor Klemperer noticed, truth dies in four modes, all of which we (Americans) have just witnessed (President Trump,  altho Trump isn’t named).   The first mode is the open hostility to verifiable reality . . . The next mode (3rd) is . . . the open embrace of contradictions.    (to me, demonstrated in the U of T and the U of S examples).
    2. Lesson #8, Stand out.  . . .  Someone has to.  It is easy to follow along.  It can feel strange to do or say something different.  But without that unease, there is no freedom.  Remember Rosa Parks.  The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.   As Jordan Pederson discovered.   After the Second World War, Europeans, Americans, and others created myths of righteous resistance to Hitler . . .  (which the historical record does not support).
    3. We tend to assume that institutions will automatically maintain themselves against even the most direct attacks.   (BIG mistake, as the history of the twentieth century demonstrates.)
    4. Lesson #2,  Defend institutions.  . . . Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf.  Institutions do not protect themselves.  They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning.  So choose an institution you care about –  a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union – and take its side.   I see Jordan Pederson’s actions as a defence of the University.   As were mine.  It is the role of citizens to do that.  Especially those who are in a position to do so.
    5. I wonder if Jordan Pederson would see himself as an actualizer of lessons, a contributor to the resistance against tyranny? – – which would make him an activist.  But those are the people for whom he appears to hold antagonism? 

For 15 years my concern and focus has been on the (un) health of democracy.  The University plays a large role – – responsible for the knowledge base of the society.   An absolutely critical component.   The reality is: They ARE falling one after the other.   Well documented on my blog.   Many good people inside the Universities are fighting hard against it.   Are they “left wing whatevers?”   

I think they are badly-needed resistance fighters in the current state of affairs.  

A few years ago I asked John Ralston Saul (philosopher), why it is that the last people to come to the aid of activists (in the context of boondoggle water projects) are the people who could help the most:  the learned professors from the University.  All we need is for them to speak up at a public meeting, for example?    

Ralston Saul’s reply, as I recall it, consisted mainly of the point that they have attained the status of respectability in the society.   They aren’t willing to jeopardize that status.  Activists are dismissed – – they are not respectable society.  

There are lots of university personnel who have a fair amount of fear (insecurity).   They have worked for and need their status, for protection.   And so they fall.  By my observation, imperfect as it is,  they are in the majority.  

The University as sacrosanct – – the open embrace of contradictions.  In reality, the staunch defenders of the status quo.  Little to do with the search for truth.  Increasingly the servants of the corporates, not the servants of the public good. 

Ha ha!  My rants, counted by number of words, outnumber yours by tenfold.

I’ll watch the remainder of the video soon, I hope.

Enough for now!

REPLY RECEIVED:

In light of  your experience with the university tyrant, Peterson’s remark applies: “Yes, the world CAN kill you.”  And the sad part is that the perpetrator may be the institution that you installed for protection.

2017-04-20 We won! OpenMedia. Net neutrality, CRTC.

 Empowerment, Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category)  No Responses »
Apr 222017
 
UPDATE:   an important win on a campaign that many of us have contributed to.   Take some time to celebrate with OpenMedia.   Job well done!

– – – – – – – – –

OpenMedia writes:

Big Telecom and their lobbyists are absolutely livid about our Net Neutrality victory.

Yesterday we wrote to you (Appended)  with exciting news that our movement had won rules to prevent telecom giants from manipulating data caps to make some apps and services more expensive than others. Since then our victory has been making headlines all over the world.

But today, telco shills and industry apologists have flocked to Twitter to express their outrage. They hate these rules. And if their outrage is any indication, they’ll do everything they can to undo our huge win.

April 20th:

This is absolutely wonderful, Sandra. We just won again!

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) just decided in favour of historic Net Neutrality rules that prevent Big Telecom from unfairly manipulating data caps to discriminate against certain apps and services.1

Over the past year, 55,000 of you spoke up to show the CRTC how data caps are used to distort demand, hurt customers, and tilt the playing field in Big Telecoms’ favour2,3 – and today your voices had quite the impact.

Telecom giants were fighting for new powers to make certain apps more expensive than others through a controversial practice called “zero-rating.”4,5,6 Luckily, today’s CRTC’s decision means all Canadians can be proud to have rules that will ensure our Internet can continue to promote free expression, innovation, and economic growth.

But our victory is not safe yet. Why? One chilling phrase: Big Telecom’s lawyers.

This is exactly the type of ruling that we can expect Big Telecom to challenge in the courts or on Parliament Hill. And that’s why we need donations from people like you right now. Can you donate to make sure OpenMedia is ready to hold onto this huge victory?

Giants like Bell have already challenged net neutrality and zero-rating in the courts.7 And – don’t forget – the federal government just opened Pandora’s Box on the open web with this year’s budget, which Big Telecom could exploit to undo today’s big win.8

Our movement has never had so many victories in such a short period. Which also means we’ve never had a bigger bullseye on us or our wins.

Thanks for everything you do,

Josh, on behalf of OpenMedia

P.S. Today’s decision from the CRTC will fundamentally determine the future of internet pricing and innovation in Canada. And, because of people like you, we will have a level playing field going forward. Thanks for all of you’ve done so far. And if you can, please donate to sustain our movement today.

Footnotes

[1] Your internet provider can’t pick which apps and services count against your data cap, says CRTC. Source: CBC News. [2] OpenMedia’s presentation at the CRTC hearings on differential pricing (a.k.a. zero-rating). Source: OpenMedia.

[3] See our End Data Caps campaign. Source: OpenMedia.

[4] What the heck is zero-rating and how does it undermine Net Neutrality? Source: OpenMedia.

[5] Guest Blog – Zero Rating: A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Source: OpenMedia.

[6] Why zero rating of internet usage must be banned. Source: Alphabeatic.

[7] Federal court dismisses Bell appeal in mobile television ruling. Source: The Globe and Mail.

[8] Budget 2017: Why Canada’s Digital Policy Future Is Up For Grabs. Source: Michael Geist.
We are an award-winning network of people and organizations working to safeguard the possibilities of the open Internet. We work toward informed and participatory digital policy. You can follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

 

2017-04-22 Building the Wall, playwright Robert Schenkkan.

 Culture and Ethics, Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category)  No Responses »
Apr 222017
 

Jan – –  Info below, the “how to obtain” for Community Theatres (and professional theatre).

Note Canadian premiere in Ottawa, HHG Theatre:

Building the Wall will be produced in Ottawa by Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, playing November 30 – December 9 at The Gladstone Theatre.

From the Horseshoes & Hand Grenades website:

Our upcoming production of Robert Schenkkan’s brand new play “Building The Wall” is quickly becoming one of the world’s hottest pieces of theatre, with  numerous productions planned for across the U.S., Europe, Mexico.  

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Hi Lou,

I sent an email to Schenkkan’s Agent to promote the idea that they get the play into community theatres, including in Canada.   The play needs to be seen by “People on the street”, and soon.  They were ahead of me.

“HOW TO OBTAIN” FOR COMMUNITY THEATRES,  BUILDING THE WALL

The play is taking off in the U.S. and in some other countries.  Goal is to reach as many people as possible.  Robert Schenkkan is Pulitzer Prize playwright.

Community theatre groups can obtain license to perform through  

http://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=5625

Full Length, Political Drama

1 man, 1 woman    Total Cast: 2

Flexible Set

ISBN: 978-0-8222-3714-3

FEE: $100 per performance. 

Scroll down here, on my blog page – there’s a picture from a production.  Schenkkan intentionally designed the play to be easily portable and accessible.

At least two people have approached the local community theatre group here, to see whether arrangements can be made for them to perform the play.  There is a donor for the performance cost, if the answer is “yes”. 

/Sandra

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

INTERVIEW, SCHENKKAN, CBC RADIO

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-april-21-2017-1.4077902/building-the-wall-a-theatrical-response-to-the-age-of-donald-trump-1.4078072

Playwright Robert Schenkkan hopes his new play Building the Wall raises consciousness about Trump’s threat to America.

Read story transcript   (the link lands you on the page for the full transcript for the April 21st episode.   The transcript for Schenkkan begins near the bottom of the page.   If you have any difficulty finding it, scroll to the top of this CBC page.  Near the top, find the links to the component segments.  The 3rd one is for the Schenkkan interview.)

Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Robert Schenkkan‘s new play paints a disturbing, dystopian future for the United States under Donald Trump.

Building the Wall, which is already one of the best-selling shows in the 27-year history of the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, was written in the space of a week in late October of last year.

In 2014, Robert Schenkkan’s play All the Way, starring Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon Johnson won the Tony Award for Best Play. (robertschenkkan.com)

“I was so outraged,” Schenkkan tells The Current’s Friday host Dave Seglins. “I was so concerned and the urgent need as an artist to respond to what I perceive to be an urgent crisis just took over.”

Schenkkan believes that playwrights have a responsibility in times of crisis. The Hillary-supporter thought the election would have turned out differently, yet he felt the U.S. had already crossed dangerous lines in the lead up to the election.

Robert Schenkkan

In 2014, Robert Schenkkan’s play All the Way, starring Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon Johnson won the Tony Award for Best Play. (robertschenkkan.com)

“I had been increasingly concerned about what I was hearing. It wasn’t just the language of the then-candidate Trump but it was also the way in which politicians, talking heads, correspondents, people who should know better were trying to downplay the seriousness of this,” Schenkkan says.

“They were constantly reassuring the American audience that well, he doesn’t really mean it, or hey it’s just words, or well don’t worry should in the unlikely event he becomes president, we will make sure nothing terrible happens.”

Building the Wall tells a cautionary tale through the characters of Rick, a white middle-class  prison warden, and Gloria, an African-American Professor. Rick becomes a prisoner himself for committing serious crimes involving prisoners at his private prison, and Gloria is tasked with understanding what led Rick to his present situation.The play tackles issues such as immigration, race and private prisons and the political choices that Schenkkan believes the U.S. will inevitably face in the next couple of years.

“Whenever a country has taken this unfortunate turn down a dark road, it has happened because individual citizens have yielded to the state of their own moral authority. The current President of the United States is not a Nazi, not remotely, he is not a even necessarily Republican or a Democrat — if anything he is an oligarch.” he explains.

“But he has definitely taken a page from the authoritarian playbook and he has done so very adroitly.”

 

Fountain Theatre - Building the Wall

Robert Schenkkan’s Building the Wall stars Judith Moreland who plays Gloria, an African-American professor, and Bo Foxworth as Rick, a white middle-class prison warden who becomes a prisoner. (Ed Krieger/Fountain Theatre )

Schenkkan believes the U.S is in the middle of a dire crisis.Trump’s rhetoric and authoritarian tendencies, according to Schenkkan, are a threat to fundamental American values such as the separation of powers and freedom of press.

“I don’t see the political crisis right now …  as a struggle between left or right, or liberal or progressive or Republican or Democrat. What we’re experiencing is an attack, a concerted attack on fundamental American values,” he suggests.

But Schenkkan also hopes that his play will ignite a genuine dialogue in the U.S. across the political spectrum. His character Rick, is a Trump supporter. Schenkkan wanted to make sure he wasn’t one-dimensional.

“It’s all too easy to dismiss people you disagree with as foolish, or not having a grasp of the facts or being prejudiced or bigoted or whatever. That’s not helpful,” he tells Seglins.

“It’s not actually true necessarily for everybody and it was very, very important for me in this play that the character of Rick not be a stereotype and not play into liberal or progressive stereotypes about what these people are like or what they want.”

Building the Wall will be produced in Ottawa by Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, playing November 30 – December 9 at The Gladstone Theatre.

Listen to the full segment at the top of this web post.

This segment was produced by The Current’s Howard Goldenthal.

 

2017-04-20 The lyrics of Amused to Death, Roger Waters

 Culture and Ethics, Peace or Violence  No Responses »
Apr 202017
 

The café was playing this soundtrack.   A friend summarized:

It’s by Roger Waters, originally a Pink Floyd musician (Waters left in 1985 to do a solo career).   It’s about an alien culture that visits Earth after we’ve destroyed it.

And then the alien anthropologists  Admitted they were still perplexed

But on eliminating every other reason  For our sad demise

They logged the only explanation left  This species has amused itself to death . . . 

 

The song is also anti-war and about how we succumb.

I love Serendipity:  on this same day I read the little handbook (Cdn $11.00 plus tax),

On Tyranny 

Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, 2017, by Timothy Snyder

  • – – –    Lesson 13    – – –

Practice corporeal politics. 

Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen.  Get outside.  Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people.  Make new friends and march with them.

Poetry that condenses language:

FULL LYRICS,  AMUSED TO DEATH    FOLLOWED BY EXPLANATION OF SOME REFERENCES

Doctor Doctor what is wrong with me

This supermarket life is getting long

What is the heart life of a colour TV

What is the shelf life of a teenage queen

– – –

Ooh western woman

Ooh western girl

News hound sniffs the air

When Jessica Hahn goes down

– – –

He latches on to that symbol

Of detachment

Attracted by the peeling away of feeling

The celebrity of the abused shell the belle

– – –

Ooh western woman

Ooh western girl

And the children of Melrose

Strut their stuff

– – –

Is absolute zero cold enough

And out in the valley warm and clean

The little ones sit by their TV screens

No thoughts to think

No tears to cry

All sucked dry

Down to the very last breath

– – –

Bartender what is wrong with me

Why am I so out of breath

– – –

The captain said excuse me ma’am

This species has amused itself to death               (Neil Postman‘s book Amusing Ourselves to Death)

Amused itself to death

– – –

Amused itself to death

We watched the tragedy unfold

We did as we were told

We bought and sold

– – –

It was the greatest show on earth

But then it was over

We ohhed and aahed

We drove our racing cars

We ate our last few jars of caviar

– – –

And somewhere out there in the stars

A keen-eyed look-out

Spied a flickering light

Our last hurrah

– – –

And when they found our shadows

Grouped around the TV sets

They ran down every lead

They repeated every test

They checked out all the data on their lists

And then the alien anthropologists

Admitted they were still perplexed

– – –

But on eliminating every other reason

For our sad demise

They logged the only explanation left

This species has amused itself to death

– – –

No tears to cry no feelings left

This species has amused itself to death

 INSERT:   the soundtrack continues . . . 

(Switch Channels)

[Alf Razzell:]   (INSERT:  see Paragragh 2 in the Explanations below)

“Years later, I saw Bill Hubbard’s name on the memorial to the missing at Aras[?]. And I…when I saw his name I was absolutely transfixed; it was as though he was now a human being instead of some sort of nightmarish memory of how I had to leave him, all those years ago.

And I felt relieved, and ever since then I’ve felt happier about it, because always before, whenever I thought of him, I said to myself, ‘Was there something else that I could have done?’

[Background: “I’d rather die, I’d rather die…”]

And that always sort of worried me. And having seen him, and his name in the register – as you know in the memorials there’s a little safe, there’s a register in there with every name – and seeing his name and his name on the memorial; it sort of lightened my…heart, if you like.”

(Woman) “When was it that you saw his name on the memorial?”

“Ah, when I was eighty-seven, that would be a year, ninete…eighty-four, nineteen eighty-four.”

 

With thanks to Wikipedia for explanations re Amused to Death

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amused_to_Death

. . .    The album’s artwork features a chimpanzee watching television in reference to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.[3] The image on the TV is a gigantic eyeball staring at the viewer.[3] According to Waters, the ape was “a symbol for anyone who’s been sitting with his mouth open in front of the network and cable news for the last 10 years.”[2] The album’s title was inspired by Neil Postman‘s book Amusing Ourselves to Death.[3] The album is organised loosely around the idea of an ape randomly switching channels on a television,[4] but explores numerous political and social themes, including critiques of the First Gulf War in “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” and “Perfect Sense”.

The first song, “The Ballad of Bill Hubbard”, features a sample of World War I veteran Alfred “Raz” Razzell, a member of the Royal Fusiliers (much like Waters’ father Eric Fletcher Waters had been in World War II) who describes his account of finding fellow soldier William “Bill” Hubbard, to whom the album is dedicated, severely wounded on the battlefield. After failed attempts to take him to safety, Razzell is forced to abandon him in no-man’s land. This sample is continued at the end of the title track, at the very end of the album, providing a more upbeat coda to the tragic story. The track also features the sound of several animals.[4] The second song, “What God Wants, Part I“, follows and contrasts the moving words of Razzell by opening with the TV being tuned instead into an excerpt that sounds like it’s taken from a vox pop of a child who says, “I don’t mind about the war. That’s one of the things I like to watch – if it’s a war going on. ‘Cos then I know if, um, our side’s winning, if our side’s losing…” he is then interrupted by the channel change and a burst of ape-chatter.

“Perfect Sense” is a two-part song about a world where live transmissions of wars are the main form of entertainment.[2] The first part of the song begins with a loud, unintelligible rant, and then a backwards message voiced by Waters: “Julia, however, in the light and visions of the issues of Stanley, we changed our minds. We have decided to include a backward message. Stanley, for you, and for all the other book burners.” The message climaxes with Waters yelling in the aggressive Scottish voice he used to depict the character of the teacher in The Wall. In the second part, famed sportscaster Marv Albert narrates a war as if it were a basketball game.

“The Bravery of Being Out of Range” includes a reference to a song written by Waters on Pink Floyd‘s 1977 album Animals, “Sheep” (not to mention the spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot“[5]).  (In “Sheep“, Waters sings “I’ve looked over Jordan and I have seen / Things are not what they seem”; in “The Bravery of Being Out of Range”, he sings “I looked over Jordan and what did I see / I saw a U.S. Marine in a pile of debris”.)

“Late Home Tonight, Part I” recalls the 1986 US air strike against Libya from the perspective of two “ordinary wives” and a young American F-111 pilot.

At the beginning of “What God Wants, Part II”, Charles Fleischer (better known as the voice of Roger Rabbit) performs the greedy evangelist’s sermon. . . .

The song “Watching TV” (a duet with Don Henley) explores the influence of mass media on the Chinese protests for democracy in Tiananmen Square.

 

2017-04-20 Vaccine Choice Canada. Bill C-87 in Ontario.

 Vaccinations (incl corruption of science & govt)  No Responses »
Apr 202017
 

I had heard about Bill C-87 in Ontario, but hoped it wasn't!

Forced injections (vaccinations) are not only an issue of

  • HEALTH  (safety of the vaccines, the number, the age at injection, the ingredients, the combined effects)
  • INFORMED CONSENT  (the information that should be provided is not)

They are

  • a HUMAN RIGHTS issue.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

COMMITTEE HEARINGS (re Vaccines, Ontario Bill C-87):

DEADLINE,  WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS:   5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 8, 2017

Public hearings in Toronto:   April 12 and 26,  May 3 and 10   (Contact Clerk of the Committee by 12:00 noon on Friday, May 5 to register).

For Committee address, phone numbers, and a copy of the proposed legislation see

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

And,   more info on C-87.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Read on.   If C-87 passes in Ontario,  it is coming to you.  Alberta already has some version of it,  see at very bottom of this posting, under heading “Update on provincial vaccine legislations“.

The movement in the U.S. against legislation that removes choice on whether, which, how many vaccinations, at what age, for your kids,  is growing by leaps and bounds.

The legislation in California is enacted:  if your kids aren’t vaccinated according to schedule they can’t go to school, not public or private.

Electronic, shared health records in the medical system, for every person, plus the ability to dictate the vaccine schedule  – – you have no say over what is injected into your children – – leaves me in disbelief.

It is a battle, not only for the U.S.   Get your boots on!

We need as much awareness, conversation and action on the Ontario legislation as possible, sufficient to stop it.

Many thanks to Vaccine Choice Canada   (VCC)  for their excellent work and the information package below excerpted from their newsletter.

Edda West, the head of VCC, was interviewed for The Truth About Vaccines, great to see the Canadian voice represented.   

Thanks to Janet M for helping distribute VCC’s info, who writes:  ” . . .  & a ton of good links on vaccines down at the bottom.”

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

TEMPLATE

I sent this to 2 interested chiropractors, some First Nations in Ontario.  And many others.  Feel free to copy, edit, and paste.

 

Subject: ALERT: Vaccines – Ontario legislation to take away choice. Human rights issue.

 

Forced injections (vaccinations) are not only an issue of

  • HEALTH  (safety of the vaccines, the number, the age at injection, the ingredients, the combined effects)
  • INFORMED CONSENT  (the information that should be provided is not)

They are

  • a HUMAN RIGHTS issue.

Vaccine Choice Canada is creating awareness of Ontario legislation, Bill C-87.   It is a threat to all three.

Similar legislation is definitely in the works in other jurisdictions, and not only Canadian.

C-87 (Ontario)  has passed second reading. And is now in Committee.

Deadline, written submissions:   May 8, 5:00PM.

VCC needs help getting the information out.   Please share with your networks.

Awareness of what is at risk, and lobbying of Ontario’s legislature is very important.    C-87 will have to pass 3rd reading after the Committee Report.

Excerpt,  VCC newsletter,  re  Bill C-87,  see  http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=18889.

I suggest sending the information to everyone, regardless of where they live.  Alberta passed some version of C-87 in November 2016.

Note: I am not VCC – –  However, I am informed and aware of the threats posed by the legislation.   I can help answer questions or direct people to more information.

Best wishes,

(signature)

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Vaccine Choice Canada V-Bulletin   March/April 2017

EXCERPT:  

Vaccine Exemption Rights Threatened

As many of you already know, the Ontario government is in the process of amending the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) for the specific purpose of targeting non-vaccinating families and to narrow parents’ access to vaccine exemptions.

The amendment will also require medical personnel to submit children’s vaccine records to public health officials, a violation of medical privacy rights.

The ISPA amendment is listed as Schedule 1 of Bill 87, the Protecting Patients Act 2016, an omnibus bill which also contains four other legislative amendments unrelated to vaccine exemptions.

As expected, the 2nd reading of Bill 87 (including “education session” amendments to the ISPA) has passed in the Ontario legislature 52 yes 44 no, and has now gone to a legislative committee that will hear submissions from the public.

Members of Vaccine Choice Canada plan on making both oral and written submissions voicing our opposition to the proposed changes to ISPA which we have articulated in our Summary of Concerns document.

These submissions will become part of the legislative and historic record of growing public alarm over government abuse of our informed consent rights and medical privacy laws.   Heather Fraser’s submission to the Committee on April 12, 2017 can be read here.

Since 1984, ISPA has provided parents in Ontario with the legal right to exempt their school age children from any or all vaccines for reasons of conscience or religion.

Once Bill 87 passes 3rd reading and the amendments to ISPA become law, no matter how well educated parents already are on the pros and cons of vaccination, they will be forced to complete an “immunization education session”, prior to being allowed to file a conscience or religious based vaccine exemption for their children.

At this point in time, no one knows the content of these “education sessions” or how they will be conducted or the kind of coercion parents will face.

The second aspect of the ISPA amendment that raises serious concerns is that doctors, nurses and other vaccine providers will be required to provide the medical officer of health (public health official) with the vaccine records of every child they have vaccinated.

Disclosure of patients’ medical records without the patient’s knowledge or consent is a serious breech of medical records privacy laws and must be contested.

In Ontario PHIPA, the  Personal Health Information Protection Act  is the legal instrument that protects people’s right to privacy of their medical records. As explained in this  summary document  patients have the right to “refuse or give consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal health information”, except in certain circumstances such as emergencies.

You have the right to make a voluntary and informed decision about medical treatments that carry a risk of injury or death. This includes vaccination. Your right to decide is protected by Canadian Medical Law and Ontario’s Health Care Consent Act, which uphold the right to Informed Consent.

The supreme law of the land is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which protects your right to “freedom of conscience and religion” and your right to “security of the person”.

Your body. Your health. Your Right!

Now is the time to speak up for our most basic human right – the right to say NO to unwanted medical treatments like vaccination.

Now is the time to take a stand to protect the right to make voluntary and informed vaccine choices for you and your children.

Now is the time to reject this overt move toward mandatory vaccination laws.

We urge you to make your voices heard!   We encourage you to present an oral or written submission to the legislative committee. Information on how to register to present your statement is provided at this link.

*******

A reminder to our subscribers – we post the top vaccine related news items from at home and abroad daily on our Facebook page. It is the best place to go for up to the minute breaking news at: www.facebook.com/VaccineChoiceCanada/

*******

In the News

The Truth About Vaccines – Free access to new 7-part documentary miniseries starts April 12 

Parent Gives National Post a History Lesson on Vaccines by Ted Kuntz

TVOntario: Science or Scientism?  by Ted Kuntz

Infant vaccine schedule endangers the immune system Paul Thomas MD discusses the problems with the CDC vaccine schedule

The Health Impact of Today’s Most Prevalent Environmental Toxin – Troubling Research Revealed at 12th Keele Conference on Aluminum by Celeste McGovern

Free Age of Aluminum e-book from CMSRI

Vaccine Papers – The science behind aluminum vaccine adjuvant toxicity: (excellent site – cutting edge analysis of published science)  (INSERT: the link works altho it shows as not.  17-04-20)

The Vaccine Safety Debate by Judy Wilyman

Did Chinese Scientists find Missing Link to Autism’s Missing Puzzle Pieces? by JB Handley

The MMR vaccine: why it’s sensible to worry about the way it has been regulated

How the anti-vaccine movement threatens us all

Mark Blaxil on Africa study re DPT increases mortality from other causes:  “all currently available evidence suggests that DTP vaccine may kill more children from other causes than it saves from diphtheria, tetanus or pertussis”

Laura Hayes: Parental Perspective on Improving Health & Reducing Costs

DPT vaccine associated with 212% increased infant mortality

Lesotho – severe measles vaccine reactions New vaccines still cause autism & the U.S. government know it

Metal Debris Found in Vaccine Supply

On Vaccines: the media is protecting us from ourselves and we should be thankful

Do you need a third mumps vaccine? Experts stuck on answer Merck has some explaining to do over its MMR Vaccine claims (from 2014)

The full story about Zostavax – The shingles vaccine Merck sued in Philly over shingles vaccine Mercury Facts from the World Mercury Project

Vaxxed Shown in a School EU Health Chief & 1700 cases of narcolepsy following H1N1 pandemic vaccine

Stop health authorities claiming that vaccines are safe Dr. Brownstein on Flu Vaccines (explains the statistical trick used to convince people)

Vitamin D protects from flu

Sharks Believe Double Dose Vaccinations in 2014 Will Keep Team Mumps Free

Devastated dog owners call for routine booster shots to be banned after pets die

*****

Vaccine Choice Canada is a not-for-profit educational society dedicated to promoting health among Canadians by helping families make fully informed and voluntary choices about vaccination.

Vaccine Choice Canada receives no funding from government or corporate sources and is solely supported by our members.

Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your children from vaccine induced injuries. Become a member of Vaccine Choice Canada and receive our internationally acclaimed newsletters.

Contact us through our website, www.vaccinechoicecanada.com or email us at: info@vaccinechoicecanada.com.

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/VaccineChoiceCanada/

– – – – – – – – – –

Excerpt from Vaccine Choice Canada Newsletter,  Jan-Feb 2017:

Update on provincial vaccine legislations

Ontario 

On December 8, 2016, the Ontario government re-introduced a legislative amendment to the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) which will “require parents to complete an immunization education session before filing a statement of conscience or religious belief”.  The amendment is now embedded in Bill 87, Protecting Patients Act which mostly relates to seniors health issues.  

Since it was first introduced last spring as Bill 198, members of Vaccine Choice Canada have worked hard to alert the public about this impending assault on our health freedoms and the right to refuse unwanted medical treatments.  The previous Bill 198 died along with other bills when the Wynne government ‘prorogued’ parliament early last fall.   

The ISPA amendment now resurrected is tucked into Bill 87, the Protecting Patients Act which passed first reading on December 8.  Inserting the ISPA amendment into Bill 87 forces members of parliament who might vote against the ‘vaccine education session’ the province aims to impose on parents, would be conflicted and might feel they have to vote for Bill 87 because the majority of this legislation is about health issues unrelated to vaccines or children’s health.  

Our petition opposing the amendment garnered thousands of signatures and was presented to the Ontario legislature on three separate occasions. Many people met with their provincial members of parliament to voice their concerns about this restrictive legislation and to protest against the narrowing of our right to make voluntary and educated vaccine choices for our children. A foundational concern is that this bill violates the medical ethic of Informed Consent, and our Canadian Charter rights of freedom of conscience and religion.   

When the new session of the Ontario legislature convenes on February 21, Bill 87 will be pushed along to second reading, at which point we may have the opportunity to make a presentation opposing the amendment to a legislative committee. We must keep up the pressure on legislators….. 

Alberta 

An amendment to Alberta’s public health Act passed 3rd reading on Novermber 22, 2016.  The amendment gives public health officials more power to access children’s vaccination records, and will increase pressure on parents to comply with the provincial vaccine schedule.  This reply  (pdf) to VCC from Health Minister Sarah Hoffman also confirms that vaccination remains voluntary and that a form will be available for parents refusing vaccination for their child. We have not yet seen the form on the government website. 

“Student enrolment information will then be used by public health professionals, employed by AHS, to contact parents of students with missing immunization information to inform them that their child is missing immunization records, and to explain the benefits of immunization to parents with doubts or concerns. Parents will have to provide their child’s immunization records, complete any needed immunizations, get a letter from a doctor indicating a medical exemption, or sign a form indicating they decline immunization for their child. Immunization will remain voluntary.” 

Parents’ letter of concern to the Premiere of Alberta 

Alberta parents voice their concern about these new regulations. 

As of this writing, searches of the Alberta government website do not yield a link to a vaccine exemption form.  

– – – – – – –

UPDATE #1 (Sandra speaking):

There is this update at the last link above:

Bill 28-Public Health Amendment Act received Royal Assent outside of house sitting and came into force on Nov.9, 2016, with exceptions, on Nov. 9, 2016.  PCE (Parents for Choice in Education) never received any response to questions asked below, from any member in the legislature, prior to the passing of this bill into law. 

UPDATE #2  (Sandra speaking):

April 18, 2017:   Ouch!   A trustee of the Edmonton School Board obtained unanimous support from the Board for action to make vaccinations more mandatory in Alberta than they already are.

Good news:  a petition

April 19 UPDATE:   Alberta Govt announces it is not supporting the Edmonton School Board position.   But read the article,  the discussion remains ill-informed.  And how I hate it when the leading proponents are PhD candidates.  From universities infiltrated by Big Pharma.

Alberta government not supporting mandatory vaccinations for students

2017-04-19 Vaccines: Why are you spreading this crap?

 Vaccinations (incl corruption of science & govt)  No Responses »
Apr 192017
 

BELOW:    The Comments on “2017-04-14 Vaccines, Powerful combo: technology + people + information”.

They deserve a posting of their own.

Why are you spreading this crap?   – –  see  #2.

 

    1. DAVID EMAILED:

      Sent: April 14, 2017 2:47 PM
      To: Sandra Finley
      Subject: Re: Vaccines, Powerful combo: technology + people + information

      Thanks, will watch tonight. I notice Dr. Suzanne Humphries is in it. She’s great…she’s the first one I looked up on this subject a few years ago…she totally shaped my viewpoint on vaccinations…and by implication, many other issues in the current practice of medicine.

      To me this is like the nuclear issue in certain ways….

      I learned SO much about deceit and Big Science Agendas from being deeply involved in that nuclear stuff for 25 years… researching then learning about all the spin, almost-pseudo-science, lies of omission, exaggerations, media & politician manipulation, “nuke-speak”, and other bullshit…and the almost religious or cultish attitude of the pushers/alarmists. It was an amazing education for me – an education in worldliness.

    1. KATRINA EMAILED:

      Sent: April 14, 2017 3:50 PM
      To: Sandra Finley
      Subject: Re: Vaccines, Powerful combo: technology + people + information

      Why are you spreading this crap? Do you want to go back a hundred years to the time when smallpox, polio, whooping cough, measles, rubella, diphtheria, mumps, etc., were rampant? I’m old enough to remember when whole communities lost children due to communicable diseases. I also knew people who were terribly scarred by smallpox. I lost good friends to TB, tetanus, and hepatitis. Your source of misinformation is not credible.

      Reply
        • SANDRA FINLEY REPLIED TO KATRINA:

          Sent: April 14, 2017 6:39 PM

          Hi,

          I was diagnosed with polio at age 3. Height of the 1952 epidemic. (INSERT: See below – – did I actually have poliomyelitis?)

          My kids were vaccinated in the early eighties.

          The world has changed in many ways since then.

          I have very serious questions about the number and kinds of vaccinations being given today.
          And the age at which they start the schedule.

          Unfortunately, as with other things, there is an enormous amount of money on the table.
          Especially if the vaccinations are purchased by the public purse.

          In the U.S. (the source of many of the problems) the pharmaceutical companies have a free pass.
          They cannot be sued if their vaccines do damage.
          There is a Vaccine Adverse Effects Compensation program, totally funded by citizens.
          A large percentage of the awards given are eaten up by lawyer fees.
          There are problems with that system.

          In spite of which, using the figures supplied by the program itself, (as I understand and it would be easy enough to confirm), more than $3 billion dollars have been paid out in compensation. Those cases involve healthy kids who get the scheduled vaccines one day and the next day they’re in severe distress and permanently damaged. There is no possibility of denial.

          I understand what’s happening in the same context as with the IBT Laboratory scandal in the U.S. in the 1980’s. It involved the chem companies, and pharma to a lesser extent. A journalist from Regina, SK was an important player in uncovering and exposing it. Until that time, if a chemical was licensed for use in the USA, it was automatically licensed in Canada.

          It was discovered that the chem companies (and others like pharma) were “purchasing” the science they needed to get their products registered. They used “independent” labs. But compromised the “science” with their money. Monsanto was involved.

          Canada established its own independent approval process (the PMRA) after the IBT scandal.

          However, using the example of Smartstax corn (2009), I wrote: By 2009 they have effectively removed the “independent” approval system in Canada. Smartstax was approved on the same day in Canada, as in the U.S. Which is to say that the “harmonization” of regulation that the industry has been working on, is now in place.

          This is not to divert attention from the vaccination issue. But only to say: beware the corporates. Citizens always have to be fighting against their corrupting influence.

          I have no problem if you, or anyone else, disagrees with my position on vaccinations. I have to go with what I understand. I listened to the taped information supplied by the CDC whistleblower, William Thompson. He was the statistician on the 5-member internal CDC Committee tasked with manipulation of the data set to show a different outcome on the link between thimerasol (mercury in the vaccine) and autism.

          To me, the information is overwhelming to say that there needs to be an investigation into the vaccinations, which if it happens, will help to clean out the corruption. And we can start anew.

          But rest assured, the next generation will have to do its own fight against the corrupting power of concentrated wealth. In the meantime, a lot of kids and families are suffering unconscionably because pharma is safely hidden behind the sacrosanct. It can’t be discussed.

          /Sandra

          Reply
            • KATRINA RESPONDED:

              Sent: April 14, 2017 6:50 PM
              To: Sandra Finley

              There may be some corruption in the production and pricing of vaccines, but I do know that it is very much cheaper to pay for immunization than to pay for health care for the population if there is no immunization, to say nothing of the suffering and loss of life. Immunization is the most efficient form of disease prevention that we have, but of course to be maximally efficient it has to be universal.

              Reply
                • SANDRA FINLEY REPLIED:

                  Sent: April 14, 2017 7:08 PM

                  As with other things, researchers are changing our understanding of some things.

                  I received this input  (David,  #1 above)

                  I notice Dr. Suzanne Humphries is in it. She’s great…she’s the first one I looked up on this subject a few years ago…she totally shaped my viewpoint on vaccinations…and by implication, many other issues in the current practice of medicine.

                  To me this is like the nuclear issue in certain ways….

                  Humphries is joined by others in re-shaping the understanding.

                  Reply
                    • KATRINA EMAILED:

                      Sent: April 14, 2017 9:55 PM
                      To: Sandra Finley

                      RE:
                      > I notice Dr. Suzanne Humphries is in it. She’s great…she’s the first
                      > one I looked up on this subject a few years ago…she totally shaped my > viewpoint on vaccinations…and by implication, many other issues in the > current practice of medicine.

                      Dr Humphries does not appear to be a researcher. She is expressing opinions. I couldn’t find one piece of data to support her position.

    1. SANDRA FINLEY, continuing the conversation with Katrina:

      Sent: April 15, 2017 10:59 AM

      I’d like to put it to the test: the Truth About Vaccines reiterates that they want to answer any questions. I will submit the question of Humphries’ evidence to them to answer. Will get back to you when there’s feedback.

      (INSERT: the question – – was it poliomyelitis?)

      Back to the polio. I was diagnosed with it. I would have been a statistic among the cases that collectively met the criteria to apply “epidemic” status  for the 1952 outbreak of polio.  But in my adult life I have wondered whether I actually had polio. My Mother kept good records. I had a look at them some time ago when I was curious about whether the thimerasol (mercury) used in vaccinations might have been a factor.

      (INSERT: a symptom of mercury poisoning mis-identified as a symptom of poliomyelitis).

      I have not (yet!) followed thru on my intention to send hair from my first official haircut for heavy metal analysis, just as a matter of interest/curiosity.  That would reveal whether there is mercury in the hair sample or not.

      What the researchers are questioning is the historical record. Keeping in mind that different pharmaceutical companies manufacture their own vaccines, but for the same diseases. And within that, not all batches were/are uniform. I can obtain the citations for (I believe it’s factual and accepted): situations where the vaccine introduced the disease into a population.

      I just had a look at my early “immunization record”. The dates are recorded on the vaccine schedule. There is a hand-written entry by my Mother: Polio – May, June 20, Oct?

      On a different page, “Mother’s Notes”: On Nov 6, 1952 we took her into Dr. Kinnear in S’toon because she complained of pains in her right leg & he diagnosed it as polio. Had affected muscles in the right knee & she had a bit of a sidle in her walk. Skating seemed to be the answer in helping it. (I was taken to the skating rink almost daily, as I understand.)

      What the researchers are identifying is that there are toxins that can cause the same symptoms as the poliomyelitis virus. DDT is one of them. There are strong correlations between DDT use in agriculture and the onset of a disease epidemic.  I was raised in the vast farmlands of Saskatchewan.

      Simultaneously, the classification of what constituted the disease was changed.  There is the question of how the re-definition may or may not have changed the story of what was happening.

      Anyhow, there’s lots to ponder.

      Sandra

      Reply
        • KATRINA EMAILED:

          Sent: April 15, 2017 3:03 PM
          To: Sandra Finley

          Sandra,

          I’m not sure what you will do with the information you are seeking if and when you get it. I’d say that the odds for a happy life after use of the polio vaccine are a lot better than spending one’s life in an iron lung, as many did prior to the Salk vaccine coming on stream.

          Reply
            • SANDRA FINLEY REPLIED:

              Sent: April 15, 2017 6:12 PM

              Katrina,

              The questions you raise are the same ones that others ask.
              Or, they just ask to be deleted from my distribution list!

              I hope you don’t mind: without identifying you by name, I documented our exchange in the “Comments” on the blog page.

              A copy of the 2 questions, as I submitted them to The Truth About Vaccines, is below (# 5 of the Comments in this exchange).

              RE: the Salk vaccine. This from the National institute of Health (U.S.):

              (The Salk vaccine) was not without tragedy –
              nearly 400,000 children had been inoculated with Cutter polio vaccine and 250 cases of atypical paralytic polio occurred
              . . . These incidents demonstrated the lack of oversight and safeguards . . .

              More about the “Cutter” vaccine below.

              So there was an outcry and there was more oversight.

              Then comes amnesia.

              And where are we today? . . . with several vaccines rolled into one, with many many more vaccines, and with additions to the vaccines that my common sense says “no” to.  Don’t you put that into me!  Let along into my children!

              . . . e.g. You know how little of a particular ingredient it can take to upset the body’s functioning? Well . .

              QUESTION: do you want to receive borax by direct injection? . . . It is used as an attenuator (used in the vaccine to weaken the virus – – the vaccine can’t contain the virus at full strength).

              I was kind of surprised (sceptical) that some vaccines contain borax, so I did my own research. I did not realize how potent it is. I recorded what I found:

              From the posting   fraud at the CDC   

              (Scroll down to How are vaccines made? Then down to ATTENUATION) 

              July 26, 2016
              Health Canada is advising Canadians to avoid using borax to make kids’ arts and crafts, such as homemade “slime,” over concerns that too much exposure to all forms of boric acid can cause “ developmental and reproductive health effects” in children and pregnant women              .

              (See the posting – – there’s more.)

              Nice!  But failure to mention the direct injection of vaccines that contain borax.

              Same story as the mercury in vaccinations. A world-wide effort to ban products that contain mercury because even in miniscule amounts it is highly toxic.   BUT! Continue its use in some vaccines (absolutely it is still used in North America).   And who cares if the mercury-containing vaccines are used in 3rd world countries?

              Or, tell everyone to avoid fish because of their high mercury content – – when the main sources of mercury in humans is from dental amalgams (50% mercury) and from vaccinations that contain mercury (thimerasol).

              And so it goes.

              Best wishes Katrina.

              Appended:

              National Institute of Health, U.S. Excerpt
              https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2928990/

              C. Cutter and Wyeth Incidents
              Regretfully, the story of polio vaccine was not without tragedy. In April 1955, soon after mass polio vaccination began in the United States, reports trickled in to the Surgeon General concerning atypical cases of paralytic polio. Several paralytic polio cases were reported in California in patients who had received the polio vaccine about a week earlier but the paralysis only affected the arm or leg in which they received the injection. Each of these cases occurred in polio vaccine produced by Cutter pharmaceutical company.

              The Surgeon General immediately pulled all Cutter polio vaccine, but it was too late; nearly 400,000 children had been inoculated with Cutter polio vaccine and 250 cases of atypical paralytic polio occurred. There were also reports of the Wyeth pharmaceutical company polio vaccine causing paralysis and death in several children in the northeastern United States.19, 21

              It was soon discovered that some lots of Cutter and Wyeth polio vaccine were insufficiently inactivated with formalin leading to live polio virus in more than 100,000 doses. In fact, 16 lots of Cutter polio vaccine were retested and the first 6 lots produced were positive for live polio virus. These incidents demonstrated the lack of oversight and safeguards put into place before the vaccine was made so widely available. 12, 19, 21

    1. Sandra Finley says:
      April 15, 2017 at 2:23 PM

      NOTE: the debate is focused on your right, versus the state right, to decide what will be injected into your body – – if, how much, when, how and what.

      It comes in the face of legislators in North America enacting legislation to take away your right to decide. Bill C-87 in Ontario has passed second reading.

      Thank goodness people like Vaccine Choice Canada are making submissions to the Committee of the Legislature. But they need help if the Legislation is to be stopped.

      We don’t see the contradictions: the legislation stands in contrast to legislation around reproductive rights. (We accept that we have a right over our own body  – – except when it’s big pharma/government and forced injections for which the science is badly flawed.)  There are potent issues around Charter Rights.

      The point is: vaccinations, what the pharmaceutical companies are doing, bona fide science, the historical record, an informed public, and so on – – these are not sacrosanct topics. Why can they not be discussed?

    1. Sandra Finley,  TWO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED TO THE TRUTH ABOUT VACCINES
      April 15, 2017 at 3:38 PM

      FOLLOW-UP ON EXCHANGE WITH KATRINA:

      I submitted these 2 questions to The Truth About Vaccines. And will report back when the answers are received:

      1. Would you please provide a summary sheet with citations re Suzanne Humphries’ work. And include 2 or 3 researchers whose work is in the same field?

      (Debate on my blog with a woman whose views are usually similar to mine: She wrote “Why are you spreading this crap? …etc

      I defended with example of Humphries whose work is changing our understanding of historical record.

      She countered with: Dr Humphries does not appear to be a researcher. She is expressing opinions. I couldn’t find one piece of data to support her position.

      I replied that I would put the question to you. I am thinking you might have a link that addresses the “opinion” versus “fact” of the historical record? Thank-you.

       

      2. I was diagnosed with polio on Nov 6, 1952 at the age of 3, by a city doctor. In adulthood I have wondered about the accuracy of the diagnosis.

      I was raised in a rural agricultural community – – Canadian prairies, Saskatchewan.

      I have my immunization record (not black-and-white, I have a couple questions about it).

      I have hair from my first official haircut, March 2, 1953 (and earlier samples from haircuts given by my brother and me).

      Because of the thimerasol used in vaccines, I have long toyed with the idea of sending the hair for analysis (if thimerasol was a factor in the early fifties).

      However, after listening to Dr. Humphries perhaps the better question is: was DDT being used in the early fifties on these farmlands?

      What do you think? One, the other, or both lines of inquiry?  (Or neither!)

  1. AL EMAILED:

    Sent: April 18, 2017 10:47 AM

    (Personal info), so I haven’t read the article.

    Having said that I still believe that vaccines are necessary to young lives and old lives too.
    Take care.

    Reply
From: Sandra Finley
Sent: April 18, 2017 2:12 PM

Re the vaccines: the problem is with the corruption that has emerged, especially since the U.S. passed the legislation to exempt big pharma from any, and all, liability related to vaccines.

The other huge side of it is that the media gives minimal coverage, if any, for example, to the whistle-blower at the CDC. Or to things like what they are putting into the vaccines.

(The exchange above) covers some of the ground that gives me great pause on vaccines.   Start at  Why are you spreading this crap?

The thrust isn’t that vaccines should be totally eliminated. I don’t actually know the vaccine schedule in Canada, the info is American. But I do know that what they get in the U.S., they push in other countries. And the vaccines are the same.

Injecting newborns, right after birth with Hep B vaccine is nuts if their parents are known to be Hep B free (which most are). On top of which, newborns aren’t sexually active and they aren’t intravenous drug users.

Vaccinating boys against HPV to prevent cervical cancer doesn’t make sense – – they don’t have a cervix.

I remember when they introduced and promoted rotavirus vaccine. It was contaminated with a pig virus. How could that happen, and did it actually happen? I went on the manufacturer’s website. It happened – – acknowledged right on their website. No repercussions for them because of the law that says they can’t be sued. Anyhow – – the list goes on and on.

The vaccine schedule is mandatory (California); kids are not allowed to attend schools (public or private) if they aren’t vaccinated. Doesn’t matter how much you might know about the vaccine, or which vaccine, how many, at what age, and along with how many other vaccines – – if it’s on the schedule it is required.

It doesn’t matter if you can demonstrate that the amount of mercury, or aluminum, in just one of the vaccines is multiple times the allowable limit. Let alone what the levels are when you combine the amount of mercury or aluminum in the total combination of what they are administering.

The Ontario legislation is aimed at the same end as the California.  It is Orwellian, a characteristic of cruel and oppressive rule.

But enough. Except this: I don’t know what the comparison is in Canada. The amount of money received by the U.S. doctors’ (paediatricians) offices, for vaccinating their client list is, to me, staggering. They are on a quota system. They get the pay-out (from the insurance companies) if 63% of their kids are fully vaxxed, with the “Combo 10”. $400 per kid. The paediatrician interviewed has 13,000 clients. I just did the math. 63% is 8,190. He would get $400 for each one. $400 times 8,190 is $3,276,000.  I double-checked the numbers because that is unbelievable to me. This particular doctor’s office foregoes more than $3 million if they don’t give the “Combo 10” to 8,190 of his kids.

It is not the first time in history that medical treatments become pervasive whether or not they contribute to health. It’s according to how much money the procedure generates. Routine, fast procedures, assembly-line style generate gravy.

The public picks up all the bills. The vaccines are sold to local jurisdictions – – I was surprised to learn that the CDC itself owns numerous patents on the vaccines. They promote, stock, and sell vaccines themselves. But of course, the pharma corporations manufacture (and get paid for) the actual vaccine.

The American public also pays for the compensation paid to families who, first have to know about, then can afford a lawyer to go to the “Vaccine Court”, and finally who are able to win their case. More than $3 billion in damages have been paid out, which tells you something.  (And as I say, in the U.S., paid for by the public purse.)

/Sandra

PLEASE HELP:

Vaccine Choice Canada is coordinating a  campaign to stop Ontario Bill C-87  which has passed second reading and is currently in Committee – – open to citizen input.

California –  the call is for massive civil disobedience (the legislation is already enacted).

The Truth About Vaccines is well done and strategically sound.  Their excellent work is critical to forming a mass movement to stop forced .

2017-04-14 Vaccines, Powerful combo: technology + people + information

 Vaccinations (incl corruption of science & govt)  13 Responses »
Apr 142017
 

(I sent #2 to the Dean of Medicine, U of S, with a short introduction.    If I was them,  I would like someone to let me know about the information that has now entered the sphere of informed public debate.)

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

  1. Ontario legislation says the State Knows Better than you.

Bill 87, Protecting Patients Act, 2017.   UPDATE

May 30, 2017 Royal Assent received

Makes it very difficult for citizens of Ontario to make the decision whether young family members get vaccinated or not, and with which vaccines.    Charter Rights go out the window.   Vaccine Choice Canada supplied excellent information in the fight for CHOICE.  But I guess Big Pharma has more clout.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

(2)    I watched Episode 2 of The Truth About Vaccines last night.  (Also watched Episode 1)

I would fail in my commitment to you and to our kids if I did not take the time to send you the link to the series.  The information is well presented.

I don’t know how it is possible to make informed decisions about a very serious topic if you DON’T have the info.

We are participating in something that could not have been done a short while ago:

powerful technology, empowered people, with powerful information.

/Sandra

 

From:   The Truth About Vaccines [mailto:info@thetruthaboutvaccines.com]

Subject:   Episode 2 is still playing

Hey Sandra,

The feedback from our second episode in the series has been wonderful, thank you.

If you haven’t watched yet,  . . .

Please watch it right here and share it with your family, every parent (experienced, new, or expecting) that you know.  . . .

I’ll see you there,

Ty Bollinger

P.S.    We’re here to help! We want to make sure that you have everything you need to make an informed decision and I want you to get all your questions answered.

On each episode page, there will be a section titled “Live Q&A …” where you can submit your top 2 questions about that specific episode (or topic) and at the end of the series, we’re going to hold a live video broadcast where we’ll answer all your top questions from each episode.

This way you’re guaranteed to get as much information as possible so that you have everything you need to make an informed decision 🙂  . . .

 

2015-11-09 Vaccine Injury Compensation in USA: Government’s Broken Social Contract with Parents

 Vaccinations (incl corruption of science & govt)  No Responses »
Apr 122017
 

NVIC’s Barbara Loe Fisher summarizes the history of broken vaccine injury compensation promises made to citizens by the U.S. Government and the need to repeal the liability shield given to vaccine-makers and providers. Learn more at www.NVIC.org

(Sandra speaking):

The Compensation Program  has paid out more than $3 billion dollars

  • funded totally by American citizens
  • the pharmaceutical companies have been granted legal immunity from prosecution
  • citizens who have received compensation must typically spend a significant amount of it on legal bills
  • large numbers of vaccine-injured persons do not know of the existence of the Program,  and
  • large numbers either can’t afford, or are unsuccessful in attempts to obtain compensation for vaccine-related injuries or death.

Barbara Loe Fisher provides an impassioned call for investigation and law reform.

If you aren’t familiar with the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in the U.S.,  this article from Dr. Mercola covers it well:    Government Wipes Recent Vaccine Injury Data from Website

June 23, 2015
128,804 views  (as at April 12, 2017) 

 

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