Sandra Finley

2015-11-20 Air Force Whistleblowers Risk Prosecution to Warn Drone War Kills Civilians, Fuels Terror. Democracy Now

 Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles / UAVs), Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category)  No Responses »
Nov 202015
 

https://www.democracynow.org/2015/11/20/exclusive_air_force_whistleblowers_risk_prosecution

  • Click on the above link.   The whistleblowers are pictured.  There’s a video.   Below:   transcript,  for backup purposes.

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

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Since the Paris attacks one week ago, France has escalated bombings of Syria, and the U.S. has vowed an intensification of its war on the Islamic State. With only a small number of U.S. special forces on the ground, Iraq and Syria have become new fronts in a global drone war that has launched thousands of strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia.

But now an unprecedented group is calling for the drone war to stop. In an open letter to President Obama, four U.S. Air Force servicemembers who took part in the drone campaign say targeted killings and remote control bombings fuel the very terrorism the government says it’s trying to destroy. The four whistleblowers write, quote, “We came to the realization that the innocent civilians we were killing only fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like ISIS, while also serving as a fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantanamo Bay. This administration and its predecessors have built a drone program that is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world.”

They continue, saying, quote, “We witnessed gross waste, mismanagement, abuses of power, and our country’s leaders lying publicly about the effectiveness of the drone program. We cannot sit silently by and witness tragedies like the attacks in Paris, knowing the devastating effects the drone program has overseas and at home.”

AMY GOODMAN: On top of the toll on civilian victims, the letter also addresses the personal impact of waging remote war. All four say they have suffered PTSD and feel abandoned by the military they served, with some now homeless or barely getting by. The letter brings together the largest group of whistleblowers in the drone war’s history. Three of the signatories operated the visual sensors that guide U.S. Predator drone missiles to their targets. Two are speaking out for the first time; three in a TV broadcast, they’ve never done it before. The other two have previously raised their concerns about the drone program, including in the documentary, Drone. The film, premiering in New York City and Toronto today, reveals how a regular U.S. Air Force unit based in the Nevada desert is responsible for flying the CIA’s drone strike program in Pakistan.

BRANDON BRYANT: We are the ultimate voyeurs, the ultimate peeping Toms. I’m watching this person, and this person has no clue what’s going on. No one’s going to catch us. And we’re getting orders to take these people’s lives.

MICHAEL HAAS: You never know who you’re killing, because you never actually see a face. You just have a silhouette. They don’t have to take a shot. They don’t have to bear that burden. I’m the one that has to bear that burden.

P.W. SINGER: There’s always been a connection between the world of war and the world of entertainment. The military has invested in creating video games that they’re using as recruiting tools.

UNIDENTIFIED: War is an unbelievably profitable business.

CHRIS WALLACE: The drones have been terrifically effective. They’ve taken out a lot of the al-Qaeda leadership. It’s cheap. It doesn’t involve putting troops on the ground.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I believe the United States of America must remain a standard-bearer in the conduct of war. That is what makes us different from those whom we fight.

UNIDENTIFIED: United States is violating one of the most fundamental rights of all: the right to life.

UNIDENTIFIED: There’s a large number of innocent civilians who are being killed, and that has to be reported.

CHRIS WOODS: The majority of the secret drone strikes that have taken place have, we have always understood, been carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency.

BRANDON BRYANT: There is a lie hidden within that truth.

AMY GOODMAN: The trailer for the documentary Drone, premiering today in New York City and Toronto. In speaking out together, the four former servicemembers risk prosecution under the Espionage Act by an administration that’s waged an unprecedented campaign against government whistleblowers. They also set their sights on a cornerstone of President Obama’s national security policy just as it threatens to escalate in the aftermath of the Paris attacks. After being elected to office on a platform of Iraq War opposition and a vow to bring the troops home, President Obama has quietly expanded the drone war far beyond its size and lethality under President George W. Bush.

Today, in this Democracy Now! exclusive, these four war whistleblowers join us in their first extended broadcast interview. We’re joined by Brandon Bryant and Michael Haas, who have spoken out to a certain extent before, both former sensor operators for the U.S. Air Force Predator program. Stephen Lewis, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, is also a former sensor operator for the Air Force Predator program and this week is speaking out for the first time. Also going public for the first time is Cian Westmoreland, a former Air Force technician who helped build a station in Afghanistan used to relay drone data.

But first, I want to turn to Jesselyn Radack, national security and human rights director at the Government Accountability Project, former ethics adviser to the U.S. Department of Justice. As an attorney, she is representing several former drone operators, including this group of four young men who are speaking out today.

Jesselyn Radack, how much do they risk in speaking out on Democracy Now! today?

JESSELYN RADACK: They’re taking an enormous and very brave public risk in speaking out. I have clients in the national security and intelligence communities who have done nothing more than tell the truth about some of America’s darkest secrets, like torture and secret surveillance—and now, in this case, drones—and those clients, a number of them, have been prosecuted under the Espionage Act—and Edward Snowden, of course, another one, is living in exile—not because they’ve done anything wrong or even revealed classified information, which they’re not here to do today, but because they have embarrassed the U.S. government. All of these men—a number of them, half of them, have complained internally, to no avail. They have gone through internal channels.

And we’re hoping that today, by going public, that this will have more of an influence in the debate, because somehow there’s a complete disconnect between these terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere and the fact that the drone program has fueled ISIS and al-Qaeda and a number of terrorist groups, and that really needs to be addressed.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I’d like to ask Brandon Bryant—we’ve had you on Democracy Now! a couple of years ago, and these guys here worked with you, as well. Could you talk about the decision to come out as a group, how you came to that and why at this particular point?

BRANDON BRYANT: Well, you know, when I first started talking out about my experiences, it was more to get a bunch of stuff off my chest and to actually try to come clean with what I have done and reveal what exactly is going on. And I’m actually really honored to be with these gentlemen right here, is that I trust them. And this is their decision to come out, and I’m here to support them, because I’ve already been doing this for three years, and it’s time that we just get a bigger coalition of people together to attack this issue.

AMY GOODMAN: Why did you sign this letter? And what are you calling on President Obama to do?

BRANDON BRYANT: We want the president to have more transparency in this issue, and we want the American people to understand exactly what’s being done in their name. And I think that all this fear and hatred that keeps going on is just out of control, and we need to stop it somewhere.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Michael Haas, I wanted to ask you, in terms of your experience in the drone program and the culture that the military basically allowed to flourish in the drone program, you’ve talked about how your fellow servicemembers talked about the children that they were targeting, as well.

MICHAEL HAAS: Yes, the term “fun-sized terrorists” was used to just sort of denote children that we’d see on screen.

AMY GOODMAN: What was it?

MICHAEL HAAS: “Fun-sized terrorists.”

AMY GOODMAN: “Fun-sized terrorists”?

MICHAEL HAAS: Yes. Other terms we’d use would be “cutting the grass before it grows too long,” just doing whatever you can to try to make it easier to kill whatever’s on screen. And the culture is—that mentality is very much nurtured within the drone community, because these—every Hellfire shot is sort of lauded and applauded, and we don’t really examine who exactly was killed, but just that it was an effective shot and the missile hit its target.

AMY GOODMAN: When did you start to have questions?

MICHAEL HAAS: Shortly after I became an instructor and I started to see how much the mentality had shifted since I had been in. And the 11th hadn’t really changed how they had trained their sensor operators from a basic-level standpoint.

AMY GOODMAN: The 11th is?

MICHAEL HAAS: The basic training squadron up at Creech. They train all the sensor operators.

AMY GOODMAN: This is at Creech in Nevada.

MICHAEL HAAS: Yes.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And you were a video game addict as you were growing up. Can you talk about this whole impact of sort of the video game approach to war?

MICHAEL HAAS: The thing that makes the gamers a prime target for this job field is that ability to just multitask and do a lot of things subconsciously and just sort of out of reflex. And you don’t really even have to think about it, which is, you know, paramount to doing this job. But a lot of it is getting used to just seeing something on screen, killing it and then going about your business as though you don’t really—you don’t really pay it a second thought. It was just an objective to be completed.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.
Next story from this daily show
“Numbing & Horrible”: Former Drone Operator Brandon Bryant on His Haunting First Kill

 

2015-11-19 US approves GM fish. Is Health Canada next? GM salmon eggs to be produced in PEI.

 AVAAZ, Genetically Modified, Salmon & Fish  2 Responses »
Nov 192015
 

(I used the COMMENTS at bottom to post update – – court challenge in the U.S.)

Today, the US government approved the world’s first GM food animal for human consumption – a GM fish that will originate from Prince Edward Island (PEI) Canada.

The US company AquaBounty will produce all the GM fish eggs in PEI, and ship them to Panama for grow out and processing for the US market.

(We’ve pitched in on this issue:

Just this week, CBAN supported Ecology Action Centre and Living Oceans Society in court where they challenged the Canadian approval of GM salmon production. We heard strong, inspiring arguments from lawyers about the need for transparency and accountability in this Canadian decision.

Health Canada has not yet approved this GM salmon for eating. You can write to the new Minister of Health instantly from CBAN’s website: www.cban.ca/noGMfish

 

PRESS RELEASE

Canadian Groups Concerned as US Approves GM Salmon

Canada to produce GM fish eggs

For Immediate Release Thursday November 19, 2015. Ottawa.

 

Canadian environmental and consumer groups are expressing grave concerns over the US government’s approval of the world’s first genetically modified (GM) food animal, a GM Atlantic salmon that will originate as GM fish eggs produced in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada.

“This approval has grave consequences for Canadians and people across the world, and poses a serious environmental threat,” said Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), “If Health Canada also approves this fish, Canadians won’t even know how to avoid it in grocery stores because GM foods are not labeled.”

The Canadian government has already approved the GM salmon and eggs for commercial production, in a decision that was challenged in court this week. However, Health Canada has not yet approved it for human consumption. “We were just in court two days ago challenging Canada’s approval of GM salmon production,” said Mark Butler of Ecology Action Centre. “We’re extremely concerned about the risks to the future of wild Atlantic salmon.”

Ecology Action Centre and Living Oceans Society were in federal court on Tuesday arguing that the Canadian government’s approval of GM salmon production was unlawful. The US company AquaBounty has a facility in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada where GM fish eggs would now be produced for shipment to Panama, for grow out and processing for the US market. “We don’t want PEI to be known as the home of the Frankenfish,” said Sharon Labchuk of the PEI group Islanders Say No to Frankenfish. “We cannot allow this global threat to originate from our beautiful island.”

In an Ipsos Reid poll conducted in August 2015 for CBAN, almost half of Canadians (45%) said they would not eat a GM salmon, and 88% said they wanted mandatory labelling of all GM foods.

-30-

For more information: Lucy Sharratt, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, 613 809 1103; Mark Butler, Ecology Action Centre, 902 266 5401; Sharon Labchuk, Islanders Say No to Frankenfish, 902 626 7327; Karen Wristen, Living Oceans Society, 604 788 5634. The poll results are available at www.cban.ca/2015poll Information on the Canadian court case is available at www.ecologyaction.ca/gmsalmon Background on the GM fish is available at www.cban.ca/fish

 

Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator  Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN)  Collaborative Campaigning for Food Sovereignty and Environmental Justice Suite 206, 180 Metcalfe Street Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2P 1P5  Phone: 613 241 2267 ext. 25 Fax: 613 241 2506  coordinator@cban.ca  www.cban.ca

https://www.facebook.com/cban.canadian.biotechnology.action.network

@biotechaction

Donate today! www.cban.ca/donate

 

 

2015-11-18 I’d blow our heads off, too. A poem in word Graphs.

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Peace or Violence  2 Responses »
Nov 182015
 

Graphs would be great, a series of them!

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

Number of people killed in Iraq/Syria/Afghanistan/Libya/Yemen by us

Number of us killed by them.

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

Number of them tortured by us

Number of us tortured by them.

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

Number of them driven from their homes by weapons and bombs we sold

Number of us driven from our homes by weapons and bombs they sold

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

Number of them permanently maimed by us

us maimed by them.

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

Number of their schools, hospitals, museums, and homes destroyed

vs ours.

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

BEST OF ALL!

Revenues from North American oil that have gone into the Middle East

Revenues from Middle Eastern oil that have gone into the West

UNIMAGINABLE AMOUNTS

And a graph of the poverty created by corrupt elites in the West who keep corrupt regimes in place in the Middle East, in order to assure the flow of oil money into offshore bank accounts

Poverty happens when resource money is diverted to the rich and then shielded from taxation.

The tax havens are in the West.

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I’d blow our heads off, too.

p.s.  I’ll be elaborating on the imperialism, the offshore banking and the connection to ISIS.

2015-11-09 Letter to Justice Minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould. Census long form. Protect Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information.

 Privacy of Personal Information; Charter Right; Surveillance; StatsCan Censuses & Surveys  5 Responses »
Nov 092015
 

UPDATE:  the reply from the Minister’s Office, and my response are appended.

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(Versions of this sent to Minister of Democratic Institutions (Maryam Monsef) and Privacy Commissioner)

Dear Jody Wilson-Raybould,

It is truly wonderful that you are the Minister of Justice!

I wish to place a pressing matter re Charter Rights on your overloaded desk.  Sorry!

People are herd animals. We have gone off in a stampede, or jumped on the proverbial bandwagon.   It is sometimes impossible to return us to a state of calm and realistic deliberation.

The Census long form is not a simple matter.  People are advocating for the building of detailed files on citizens, if they understand the Census and Surveys data base at StatsCan.

Two Cabinet Ministers are the best hope for working out protection for the Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information on the Census Long Form bandwagon, the

  • Minister of Justice & Attorney General of Canada (you!)
  • Minister for Democratic Institutions (Maryam Monsef)

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Daniel Therrien, also has a role to play.

You may not be aware that Lockheed Martin Corporation is a contractor at StatsCan.   A specialty of theirs is surveillance, and they have contracts with the NSA.   You probably know about the leaks by Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald and Julian Assange.   The NSA, CIA, FBI establish back-door entry to data bases if they cannot obtain legal, front-door access.   It is no secret that the U.S. wants access to the data on all Canadians.

Our Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information reads:

“In fostering the underlying values of dignity, integrity and autonomy, it is fitting that s. 8 of the Charter should seek to protect a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to maintain and control from dissemination to the state.”

In light of the troubling fact that in 2011 we RE-elected the Harper Conservative Agenda for the under-mining of democracy, in light of the still rampant racism (the denigrating emails that are circulating about Muslims, the abuse even by Police of First Nations women), in light of everything that mainstream media does not tell citizens, it is my opinion that Canadians will be making a tragic mistake if they agree to extinguish our Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information.

Many Canadians understand the danger inherent in allowing the state to build and maintain files that hold detailed personal information about them. The Minister of Justice will understand the importance of constitutional Charter Rights.

The resolution of the debacle at StatsCan must include a solid defence of the Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information.

I have communicated with Maryam Monsef   I cannot know if my communications make it through the screening between me and a Minister.   If the staff is partisan, it will not make it because the Liberal platform promised a mandatory long form census. Period.

I laid out the “minefield” on this issue in detail, for the Minister responsible for StatsCan, Navdeep Bains.   Please go to http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=15633.

Because I have been involved in this issue for 12 years (from the beginning when Lockheed Martin was awarded Census contracts) I was asked for “my take” on the situation.   The link to “my take” is on the above URL.   I think you will find it helpful. I was thinking in terms of solutions.

Note that the original intention with the contracting out to Lockheed Martin was that they would do pretty well the whole census operation, down to the rental of the extra office space required when a census is undertaken, and the hiring of the workers.   They and the StatsCan leadership did not get what they proposed because of the outrage of Canadians.  Lockheed Martin fared just fine, nonetheless.

I will be happy to answer questions, if I am able.

I sincerely wish you all the best in your new job.   I know you will do your best, and that will be more than enough.   Other Canadians have to help out, too.

In service to democratic governance and the rule of law,

Sandra Finley

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APPENDED, REPLY FROM MINISTER’S OFFICE

From: Ministerial Correspondence Unit – Mailout    Sent: January 8, 2016 1:24 PM    Subject: Correspondence on behalf of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Dear Ms. Finley:

On behalf of the Honourable Jody Wilson‑Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence of November 9, 2015, concerning the long‑form census.

As you may know, the matter you raise falls within the purview of the Honourable Navdeep Singh Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. I have therefore taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your correspondence to Minister Bains for his information and consideration.

Thank you for writing.

Yours sincerely,

L. Bisson

Manager, Ministerial Correspondence Unit

c.c.:      The Honourable Navdeep Singh Bains, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

MY RESPONSE TO MINISTER’S OFFICE

From: Sandra Finley   Sent: January 9, 2016 3:55 PM

To: ‘Ministerial Correspondence Unit – Mailout’

Cc: Jody.Wilson-Raybould (Minister);  Sean.Casey (Parliamentary Secretary)

Subject: Census Long form & Charter Right to Privacy RE: Correspondence on behalf of the Minister of Justice

Regarding your reply to my concern re

the infringement of the census long form on the Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information,

addressed to Attorney General Jody-Wilson Raybould, Nov 9:

Many Canadians understand the danger inherent in allowing the state to build and maintain files that hold detailed personal information about them. The Minister of Justice will understand the importance of constitutional Charter Rights. 

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Cc  Parliamentary Secretary to Attorney General, Sean Casey, 613-996-4714, sean.casey@parl.gc.ca

Dear L. Bisson,

Please make your response right by acknowledging who is responsible for what.

You have gotten it wrong.  Charter Rights do not, as you replied to me,

(fall) within the purview of the Honourable Navdeep Singh Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. 

Your email below passes me off to Navdeep Bains whose office does not have the expertise to deal with questions of Charter Rights.

Bains’ office has already passed me off to StatsCan.  StatsCan’s non-reply (Marc Hamel, Nov 28) on behalf of Minister Bains:

“ thank you for taking the time to share your views and information …” .

The Charter Right seriously offended by the Census Long Form:

“In fostering the underlying values of dignity, integrity and autonomy, it is fitting that s. 8 of the Charter should seek to protect a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to maintain and control from dissemination to the state.”

Appended:  Liberals re Charter Rights – – excerpt from the Prime Minister’s Mandate to Jody Wilson-Raybould and two quotes regarding Charter Rights from his book “Common Ground”.

I see now where Bains announced (Jan 7) that the Government will proceed without any changes to the Census Long Form.   There will be no attempt to address infringement of Charter Rights.

I think and hope that the Government has under-estimated the determination of many Canadians to vigorously defend our Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information.

Census non-compliance in 2011 was 11% according to numbers supplied by StatsCan at the Toronto trial of Audrey Tobias.

Through your acknowledgement of who is responsible for what, my input might be forwarded to the Attorney General and Parliamentary Secretary who in turn might have meaningful conversations with StatsCan.

Someone needs to advocate against the building of detailed files on citizens that is on-going at StatsCan.  The Attorney General is the obvious person.

Engaged citizen,

Sandra Finley

APPENDED

Liberal Commitment to the Charter of Rights and Freedom:

Prime Minister J Trudeau mandated Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould (Attorney General):

… You are expected to ensure that the rights of Canadians are protected, that our work demonstrates the greatest possible commitment to respecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that our government seeks to fulfill our policy goals with the least interference with the rights and privacy of Canadians as possible. 

Prime Minister J Trudeau recognizes the value of Charter Rights,  he writes in his book, “Common Ground” 2014:

(p. 192)   “I know that everyone in this room supports our Charter of Rights,” I told the crowd.  “It’s the document that forms the basis of the rights we all enjoy … The Charter of Rights protects freedoms for everyone.  You can’t pick and choose the rights you want to keep and leave behind the ones you don’t like.”    

(p. 184)   I reminded them that it had been twenty-five years since my father had given Canada the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, one of the most valued tools the world has even seen for ensuring the protection and full exercise of human rights.  “Now we are all children of that Charter,’ I said.  

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RELATED POSTINGS:

 

Sept 20:  Advocating for detailed files on citizens  (Response to Maclean’s Magazine)

 

Nov 5.  Mandatory long form census, to Minister Navdeep Bains (Innovation, Science & Development)  Minister Responsible for the Census

 

Nov 6.   To Prime Minister J Trudeau, Census Long Form & Charter Right to Privacy

 

Nov 7.  My reply to “What’s your take?”

 

Nov 9.  Request to defend Charter Right (Privacy of Personal Information) – to Ministers Justice, Democratic Institutions & Privacy Commissioner    Includes reply and response.

 

Jan 9.  2016-01-09 To Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, Sean Casey, re Mandatory Census Long Form and Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information

 

2015.    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: 1. Letter of Mandate to Attorney General & 2. Quotes from Trudeau’s book, “Common Ground”  

 

2015.    1940′s “U.S. Census was used to round up hundreds of thousands of patriotic American citizens at gunpoint”.   

2015-11-07 What’s my take? Census Long Form, Lockheed Martin Corp, Privacy of Personal Information, StatsCan

 John Perkins, Privacy of Personal Information; Charter Right; Surveillance; StatsCan Censuses & Surveys  11 Responses »
Nov 072015
 

Janet asked:    What’s your take . . .

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It’s probably crazy to expect that anything can be done at this stage (census long form).

NONETHELESS, I sent e-communications to ministers responsible:

Still nervous, yesterday I sent by Canada Post:

Because the Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information is the responsibility of the Attorney General (Minister of Justice), I then sent through Canada Post:

UPDATE:

To me,  the communication I sent to Bains and Monsef  says:

  • Coercion does not work  (2011 – non-compliance is 11%)
  • Openness is required.  The Lockheed Martin problem has to be addressed.   You cannot sweep it under the rug.
  • Collaborative problem solving is required.
  • Spin-doctoring doesn’t work.  (I didn’t say, but should have:  Neither does Deny, deny, deny work in a somewhat informed citizenry.)

I think the complete solution is more than getting rid of Lockheed Martin’s involvement.   (Note that Lockheed doesn’t  “process” the census and survey data.  They have been involved with the data base at StatsCan.)

I have no doubt that NSA “back-door” access to the StatsCan data base is in place, through Lockheed’s involvement at StatsCan:

  • The report by Ottawa Citizen on Security Conference in Ottawa,  unequivocal statement that the Americans want access to the data on all Canadians.
  • The Maclean’s report in which the “President for the Americas, Lockheed Martin” spells out how they are going to get what they want.
  • Add to that the information leaked by Ed Snowden and Glenn Greenwald, include Assange.
  • Add to that the spying culture that has arisen out of American imperialism.

I did not, but should have included in the documentation sent to the Government, the story of Ladar Levison:

A few points:

  1. Getting rid of Lockheed Martin at StatsCan won’t remove the backdoor access to the data base.
  2. All credibility has been lost.  You can’t trust what is said.  Communications Consultants are about whitewashing and pushing an agenda.  Their work is not judged by ethical standards.   To them, truth and openness are obstacles.  There are unethical quislings in strategic positions in the bureaucracy, amongst the ethical and hard-working ones.
  3. We are “nice”.   We are prone to forget “not nice”.   At our peril.   Lockheed Martin is a big player in the corporatocracy which is well described by John Perkins.  I hope to soon circulate this link by email:  Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Janet – – if you haven’t read Perkins’ Confessions,  take time to listen to the Youtube interview of him at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-a6jzU0YgQ    .   Perkins is legitimate, I did background checks.   His work has been in the public domain for at least 8 years, and is supported.

4.   Most citizens understand that elected officials don’t run the show:  big corporations are doing it behind the scenes with their collaborators.   Perkins enlightens as to their tactics.  They are without scruples.  We have to deal with that reality.   And we are, through citizen movements big and small (Occupy, March Against Monsanto, Idle No More, Black Lives Matter, Dis-invest, #HaveNoFear;  Committee For Future Generations; ad infinitum).

5.   In light of point #4,  in light of the troubling fact that in 2011 we re-elected the Harper Conservative Agenda, in light of the still rampant racism (the denigrating emails that are circulating about Muslims), in light of everything that mainstream media does not tell citizens,  it is my opinion that Canadians will be making a tragic mistake if they agree to extinguish our Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information.

“In fostering the underlying values of dignity, integrity and autonomy, it is fitting that s. 8 of the Charter should seek to protect a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to maintain and control from dissemination to the state.”

In answer to your question,  the resolution of the debacle at StatsCan must include a solid defence of this Charter Right.  It seems to me that many Canadians understand the danger inherent in allowing the state to build and maintain files that hold detailed personal information about them.

(Sorry – – never a “short” answer from me, Janet!)

/Sandra

 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

RELATED POSTINGS:

 

Sept 20:  Advocating for detailed files on citizens  (Response to Maclean’s Magazine)

 

Nov 5.  Mandatory long form census, to Minister Navdeep Bains (Innovation, Science & Development)  Minister Responsible for the Census

 

Nov 6.   To Prime Minister J Trudeau, Census Long Form & Charter Right to Privacy

 

Nov 7.  My reply to “What’s your take?”

 

Nov 9.  Request to defend Charter Right (Privacy of Personal Information) – to Ministers Justice, Democratic Institutions & Privacy Commissioner    Includes reply and response.

 

Jan 9.  2016-01-09 To Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, Sean Casey, re Mandatory Census Long Form and Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information

 

2015.    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: 1. Letter of Mandate to Attorney General & 2. Quotes from Trudeau’s book, “Common Ground”  

 

2015.    1940′s “U.S. Census was used to round up hundreds of thousands of patriotic American citizens at gunpoint”.   
 

2015-11-06 Expedited post to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau re Census Long Form

 Privacy of Personal Information; Charter Right; Surveillance; StatsCan Censuses & Surveys  1 Response »
Nov 062015
 

(Deletions made in order to keep the posting more focused.)

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

Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

. . .  (Congratulations . . .)

You said on the evening of October 19th that you hoped Canadians would continue to be engaged. In my opinion, that is a must – – Canadians have to assist you in achieving your potential. The take down of democracy by corporate structures is insidious and pervasive in our institutions.   Citizens have to fight to re-claim.   The election of your Government promises to be very helpful. And more so, if we can unseat what I call the corporatocracy.

…  (deleted)

The issue is the Census Long Form.

  • Navdeep Bains, Minister for Innovation & Science received an email from me.   And
  • Maryam Monsef, the Minister Responsible for Democratic Institutions received a facebook request that she review the documentation conveyed to Navdeep

You may not be aware of the serious complications around the Census Long Form:

  • The involvement of Lockheed Martin Corporation at StatsCan
  • The building of detailed files on citizens

I have enclosed copies of

 

I know that “the office of Justin Trudeau” will open my envelope. I hope someone with an open mind will review it.

If you are doubtful about the need to be open about the situation, I recommend that you refer the information package outside politicized circles for judgment. The question of detailed files on citizens should not be a political matter.   It is a matter of Charter Rights and common sense about Lockheed Martin’s involvement at StatsCan.

The documentation submitted to Navdeep (enclosed) and the many shared stories on my blog show a difficult relationship between StatsCan and citizens. The way to resolve it is not through the employment of “Communications Consultants”.

I almost wish I didn’t have hope – – it places a great burden on you in a fast world where there is insufficient time for reflection.

(sign-off deleted)

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RELATED POSTINGS:

 

Sept 20:  Advocating for detailed files on citizens  (Response to Maclean’s Magazine)

 

Nov 5.  Mandatory long form census, to Minister Navdeep Bains (Innovation, Science & Development)  Minister Responsible for the Census

 

Nov 6.   To Prime Minister J Trudeau, Census Long Form & Charter Right to Privacy

 

Nov 7.  My reply to “What’s your take?”

 

Nov 9.  Request to defend Charter Right (Privacy of Personal Information) – to Ministers Justice, Democratic Institutions & Privacy Commissioner    Includes reply and response.

 

Jan 9.  2016-01-09 To Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, Sean Casey, re Mandatory Census Long Form and Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information

 

2015.    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: 1. Letter of Mandate to Attorney General & 2. Quotes from Trudeau’s book, “Common Ground”  

 

2015.    1940′s “U.S. Census was used to round up hundreds of thousands of patriotic American citizens at gunpoint”.   
 

2015-11-05 Mandatory long form census, submitted to Minister Navdeep Bains (Innovation, Science & Development)

 Privacy of Personal Information; Charter Right; Surveillance; StatsCan Censuses & Surveys  No Responses »
Nov 052015
 

Note:  italicized bold text is a link to more information.

Submitted by Sandra Finley to Minister Navdeep Bains

November 5, 2015 

MANDATORY CENSUS LONG FORM

You have taken on a Minefield.   You should know the lay of the land.

  • In 2003-2004, related to upcoming 2006 Census, thousands of Canadians protested to the Government over the contracting-out of Statistics Canada work to Lockheed Martin Corporation (American military).

 

  • For the 2006 and 2011 Censuses, protest over Lockheed Martin’s involvement took the form of non-compliance.
  • People were prosecuted. Refer to Court Cases of Todd Stelmach, Darek Czernewcan, Sandra Finley; Audrey Tobias, Janet Churnin, Eve Stegenga.
  • 2010 – The Census Long Form became the National Household Survey. Under the Statistics Act, the sanctions that apply to Censuses do not apply to Surveys.   In spite of the Law,  StatsCan threatens people with prosecution if they do not fill in the Surveys.
  • According to the actual numbers provided by Yves Beland, StatsCan Director of Census Operations, at the Audrey Tobias trial, the non-compliance rate for the 2011 Census is 11%, not the 2% figure they supply to the media.   (StatsCan insists that 13 million out of 14.6 million is 98% compliance. It is 89% compliance. Do the math.)
  • Canadians do not like being threatened, intimidated, coerced and lied to, by their Government or its agencies.

 

1.   THE LAW ON CENSUSES AND THE PROCESS:

1.1       Harper did not change the law on the Census long form.   Under the Statistics Act, the Census is mandatory. Section 8 sets out the sanctions for non-compliance (Prosecution with potential maximum 3 months in jail AND/OR a fine of maximum $500.)

1.2      StatsCan submits the Census questions to the Cabinet for approval through an Order-in-Council which, of course, gets published in the Canada Gazette. So Cabinet approves, or sends the questions back to StatsCan for revision. These are the questions Canadians are required to answer through the once-every-five-years Census.   Short form, long form, it’s all “the Census” under the Law.

By changing the “census long form”  to a “survey”, the Conservatives made it definitely voluntary.  Surveys are, by definition in the Statistics Act, voluntary. HOWEVER, that is not what StatsCan workers tell Canadian citizens. They use the old line re the census: “It’s the law. You will be prosecuted….”

The ability to continuously add to the files on individual citizens in the StatsCan data base is enhanced by doing data collection through surveys instead of censuses.  Censuses are limited to once every 5 years.

 

2.   THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATSCAN CENSUSES AND SURVEYS:

2.1         Data collection on citizens through Surveys is on-going, every week, almost every day:             The National Household Survey (the Census Long Form under another name, but expanded), Surveys on Household Spending, Labour Force, Nutrition, etc.   Citizens are threatened with prosecution if they don’t provide the information.

2.2         StatsCan does not just leave the forms for citizens to fill in and return. Increasingly, they insist on coming in and asking the questions. They write down the answers.   There are cases where, when asked for household income, the StatsCan worker insists on seeing the householders’ income tax form for verification because they do not trust the word of the citizen.

 

3.   MINEFIELD #1: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCKHEED MARTIN, SURVEILLANCE, THE NSA, AND LEAKS BY EDWARD SNOWDEN – GLENN GREENWALD DUO.   

If we know who Lockheed Martin is, what they do in the world, that they are involved in the data base at StatsCan, and a bit of history (the role of census data bases in Nazi Europe for example) – – –  

            You cannot un-do the damage of the decision to contract out to Lockheed Martin (sub-contractor IBM), the result of Government that would not listen to citizens.

  • Lockheed produces weapons that are illegal (land mines, cluster munitions, drones that drop bombs indiscriminately on people)
  • They are as corrupt as hell. And they corrupt others.
  • They played a significant role in the decision by the Americans to drop bombs on Iraq, based on lies. That was an illegal war of aggression.   Jean Chretien kept Canada out of that war.
  • Lockheed Martin was the Number One “Contract Interrogator” in the U.S. torture at off-shore prisons like Abu Ghraib, Bagram, Guantanamo Bay. Torture is very illegal.
  • The Americans are saddled with more than $18 trillion public debt. A significant part of that is thanks to Lockheed Martin Corp. – – the wars and the profiteers of war.

If that is not enough to cause non-compliance with the Census and Surveys:

A specialty of Lockheed Martin, as spelt out on its website, is surveillance.   It has contracts with the NSA.   The leaks through Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald make clear that illegal and covert back-door entry to data bases is achieved, if access cannot be achieved through the front door.

You think that the American NSA, CIA, FBI, military does not have access to the data on Canadians?   Add this. You don’t have to imagine, it’s right there in publications like the Ottawa Citizen and Maclean’s Magazine:

  1. 2008-11-01   Ottawa Citizen, “American officials are pressuring the Federal Government to supply them with information on Canadians .. Canadian officials have said .. will meet the new standard .. by 2011 .. but there’ll be tremendous pressure (from the U.S.) to get there faster.”

American officials are pressuring the federal government to supply them with more information on Canadians, says an influential analyst on Canada-U.S. relations.

“Not only about (routine) individuals, but also about people that you may be looking at for reasons, but there’s no indictment and there’s no charge,” Christopher Sands of the Hudson Institute told a security intelligence conference in Ottawa yesterday.

            Lockheed Martin is perfectly positioned.  And here’s what Lockheed Martin President has to say:

2.  2006-09-13 Maclean’s Magazine interview, President of the Americas for Lockheed Martin Ron Covais, Meet NAFTA 2.0

We’ve decided not to recommend any things that would require legislative changes because we won’t get anywhere .. The guidance from the ministers was “Tell us what we need to do and we’ll make it happen”, recalls Covais who chairs the U.S. section of the Council.. the future of North America.. not in a sweeping trade agreement on which elections will turn, but by the accretion of hundreds of incremental changes implemented by executive agencies, bureaucrats, and regulators ..     

 

4.   MINEFIELD #2: THE CHARTER RIGHT TO PRIVACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your name is on your record in the StatsCan data base.   Questions asked are such as:  “What is the NAME of your employer?”.   There is a collection of questions on ethnicity:   Example:  “What language did you speak at home when you were 5 years old?”  Sexual orientation is asked.   How many bedrooms in your home? …

“In fostering the underlying values of dignity, integrity and autonomy, it is fitting that s. 8 of the Charter should seek to protect a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to maintain and control from dissemination to the state.”

The role of mechanized census data in Nazi Europe. It’s Why we have a Charter Right to privacy of personal information.   Read Edwin Black’s, IBM and the Holocaust, the Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America’s Most Powerful Corporation.

Jennifer Stoddard, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner:

Meanwhile, governments and businesses have a seemingly insatiable appetite for personal information.  Governments appear to believe – mistakenly, I would argue – that the key to national security and public safety is collecting mountains of personal data.  Privacy often receives short shrift as new anti-terrorism and law enforcement initiatives are rolled out.”

StatsCan bundles and sells the information generating millions of dollars in revenues. You can understand that, but we don’t live in a world of all goodness. We live in a world, in this case, of Lockheed Martins.

2014-06-04  Government orders federal departments to keep tabs on all demonstrations across country   (You will recall that Environmentalists and others are likely extremists or terrorists, funded by foreigners.)

You may say, all is fine – – we got rid of Harper.   The fact that Harper happened is a warning to Canadians to fiercely defend their Charter Rights.   (Not that the Rights aren’t vulnerable, but at least they exist and can be protected.)

 2013-10-09    Inside Canada’s top-secret billion-dollar spy palace, CBC News     See the original, the URL is still good:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/inside-canada-s-top-secret-billion-dollar-spy-palace-1.1930322?cmp=rss/

 

5.   WHAT DO THE COURTS THINK?   

Trials for non-compliance, 2011 Census:   Two discharges and one not guilty.

  • (Karen) Eve Stegenga received a conditional discharge (July 17, 2014).  She is to do 25 hours of community service.
  • Janet Churnin received a conditional discharge (December 2013).  50 hours of community service.
  • Audrey Tobias was found not guilty (October 2013).

 

My thoughts:

By 2011 non-compliance was 11%  (not the 2% reported by StatsCan).

Hopefully, after the Stegenga case, the Justice Dept “gets it”:  the collective conscience of Canadians is strong.   They are not going to obtain compliance by using the threat of prosecution.

It is good to see the Justice Department putting tax money to good use.  The cost of any one of these trials is very high – preparation, consultations, judges, prosecutors, court workers, facility costs, opportunity costs (the money could have been put to better use).

The Justice Dept is not getting meaningful convictions for all that.  Not when the Judges understand the background.

 

6.   RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATSCAN AND CITIZENS

Coercion.

Disrespect. 2011, Citizens filled out and returned their Census form, StatsCan records showed they didn’t, Workers come aggressively after them, making false accusations and threats of prosecution.   Citizens filled in a second form. Don’t think they didn’t harbour resentment.

“ The self-serving admonition on the outside of the envelope that “It’s the law” is a poorly masked threat and I doubt anyone takes kindly to threats.”   Understatement.

In the beginning (2003), if you said “Lockheed Martin”, most people said “Who?”.  After 12 years, media coverage of trials, people googling after StatsCan harassment over surveys, Lockheed’s F-35 contracts, objections to Lockheed Martin’s intrusions into our universities, Lockheed Martin’s drone programme, disclosures surrounding the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, people no longer say “Who?”.

Of course, there are implications for StatsCan.   Pretending there isn’t will be counter-productive.

 

7.   MINEFIELD # 3:   DATA BASES ARE NOT SECURE.  
  • There is the problem of American back-door access.   Reassurances that the data base is secure fly in the face of reason.
  • But regardless of that, major data bases are routinely hacked into, as you will know.

The spin from StatsCan is:  “Rest assured.   Your personal data is secure with us.”   The problem with spin?   Over  years of pervasive use more citizens recognize it as propaganda – – it undermines people’s willingness to believe, to have faith.   “Your personal data is secure with us”  will be met with  “Yeah.   Sure.”.

Get real.

8.   THE MEDIA

Please see:   2015-09-20  Advocating for detailed files on citizens   

Snail-mailed to Maclean’s Magazine following their support for mandatory long form census.

I think it makes the case – – I don’t need to duplicate here.

 

IN CONCLUSION

The solution is not as simple as rolling out a “It’s the law.” mandatory, long form census.

Citizens recognize reassurances for what they are, when they are informed. They recognize Communications Consultants (spin doctors) as propagandists, when they are informed.   They understand the need to protect Charter Rights when they become participating citizens.

You are in a minefield.

Better solutions will be found if there is acknowledgement instead of denial,  and a participatory approach to addressing the problems.

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RELATED POSTINGS

Sept 20:  Advocating for detailed files on citizens  (Response to Maclean’s Magazine)

 

Nov 5.  Mandatory long form census, to Minister Navdeep Bains (Innovation, Science & Development)  Minister Responsible for the Census

 

Nov 6.   To Prime Minister J Trudeau, Census Long Form & Charter Right to Privacy

 

Nov 7.  My reply to “What’s your take?”

 

Nov 9.  Request to defend Charter Right (Privacy of Personal Information) – to Ministers Justice, Democratic Institutions & Privacy Commissioner    Includes reply and response.

 

Jan 9.  2016-01-09 To Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, Sean Casey, re Mandatory Census Long Form and Charter Right to Privacy of Personal Information

 

2015.    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: 1. Letter of Mandate to Attorney General & 2. Quotes from Trudeau’s book, “Common Ground”  

 

2015.    1940′s “U.S. Census was used to round up hundreds of thousands of patriotic American citizens at gunpoint”.   

 

2015-11-04 Dean of the Edwards School of Business, U of Saskatchewan, Letter re Donor Relations

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Take back the University  No Responses »
Nov 052015
 

With thanks to Dean Daphne Taras:   Yes, you can circulate it.   (November 4, 2015 2:23 PM )

RESPONSE TO:  2015-11-02 LISTEN: Enbridge & U of Calgary relationship challenges academic integrity

—–Original Message—–

From: Taras, Daphne

Sent: November 4, 2015 10:08 AM

To: Edwards Faculty; Edwards Staff; Edwards Retired Faculty

Cc: Muzychka, Ivan; Hartshorn, Kent; Barber, Ernie; Stoicheff, Peter

Subject: Dean’s Remarks: University of Calgary and Donor Relations, Edwards School and Donor Relations

 

As most of you know, I launched my career at the Haskayne School of Business at University of Calgary and only left there in mid-2010 to become Dean of the Edwards School of Business. The recent extensive media coverage on the Enbridge-Haskayne School relationship — which many non-academics probably think is much ado about not much — is of great interest to university folk throughout North America. It is doing a lot of damage to the University of Calgary. I am saddened by that, because it all was quite avoidable.

 

Let me reassure you that there is not a single donor term or contract at the Edwards School negotiated under my leadership that would be problematic, and I know of no other terms before my time that cross any lines. I would happily go on record saying I have never fostered intrusive donor terms, and none of my donors — large or small — have ever intruded into academic freedom. I have never received a single phone call or email, or received a comment or piece of advice from any donor or prospective donor that has crossed a line. It is with considerable pride that I write this to you. If media attention should turn from Haskayne to other business schools across Canada, you can rest assured that nothing untoward will be found at Edwards.

 

Further, I do not sit on any paid boards, and any meagre consulting or honoraria income I receive is donated to the Edwards School in its entirety. I always disclose any consulting activity — regardless of whether it reaches the point of materiality — to the Provost

 

Since my arrival at Edwards I have repeatedly warned faculty and staff that conflicts of interest can bite, and there should be transparency about even perceived conflict or the potential for conflict. With the breaking news about Calgary, you can see why I have emphasized the importance of disclosure prior to making decisions so that appropriate discussions can occur, or firewalls can be built to protect all parties. This is not trivial.

 

There were two reasons I left Calgary to join the University of Saskatchewan. First of course was the match between my skills and the Edwards School. But second, I left Haskayne because the moral compass there was temporarily amiss. For those who really care about Calgary and its primary University, let me add that I have great admiration for President Elizabeth Cannon and Dean Jim Dewald. Under Dean Dewald’s leadership, I have seen a restoration of ethical decision making and I have great faith that he will guide that School responsibly and well.

 

The majority of our budget is from taxpayers and we are an expensive outfit, so we owe a great duty of care to the public. Often there is not a bright line between our activities and donor interests, which is why in our environment we need to be scrupulous. CBC media used Freedom of Information (FOIP) requests to obtain thousands of University of Calgary and the Haskayne School’s emails and documents. Such items cannot simply be deleted or destroyed. They live on. As we go forward, be aware of the damage that was done to University of Calgary, and continue to avoid subjecting the Edwards School to any risk.

 

And that’s all I wanted to say to you all this rainy morning in Saskatoon! To the best of my knowledge, we are clean and proud of it.

 

Daphne Taras, PhD

Dean and Professor

Edwards School of Business

University of Saskatchewan

2015-11-02 Heads roll at Lockheed Martin over troubled F-35 program. And If Elected, Trump Promises to Dump F-35. Mentions Trudeau’s decision: Nix F-35s

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials)  No Responses »
Nov 042015
 

https://www.rt.com/business/320487-f35-lockheed-martin-pentagon-us/

Problems with the most expensive weapons project in Pentagon history, the $400 billion and counting F-35 jet have forced a reshuffle at Lockheed Martin.

The US aircraft designer named Jeff Babione the new executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 Program, succeeding Lorraine Martin.

“Jeff is a seasoned leader who is uniquely qualified to lead the F-35 team through this critical phase of the program,” said Orlando Carvalho, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics executive VP in a statement. “He brings a deep understanding of the F-35 program, strong customer relationships and a collaborative leadership style that will ensure we continue the positive momentum of the program.”

Despite vast spending that has made the F-35 jet the most expensive piece of military hardware ever created, the program seems to have had several setbacks.

“The stealth fighter lacks the sensors, weapons and speed that allow a warplane to reliably detect and shoot down other planes in combat. Especially when those planes are shooting back,” said a review from military website War is Boring.

“The F-35 can see great. It just can’t see all that great in the air. At least not compared to modern Chinese- and Russian-made jets — the planes the F-35 is most likely to face in battle in some future war,” it added.

According to the US Department of Defense, the program’s office wasn’t accurately recording the jet’s problems.

“Not all failures are counted in the calculation of mean flight hours between reliability events, but all flight hours are counted, and hence component and aircraft reliability are reported higher than if all of the failures were counted,” the Fiscal Times quoted the report.

The F-35 is a US fifth generation multirole combat aircraft designed to perform ground attack, aerial reconnaissance, and air defense missions. The program was launched in 2006 but has experien

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

If Elected Trump Promises to Dump F-35 Fighter Jet Project

http://sputniknews.com/military/20151103/1029553079/donald-trump-stop-f-35-program.html

© REUTERS/ Mike Stone

November 3, 2015

. . .   This was the first time Trump has given any specific details about his defense policy.

“When they say that this cannot perform as well as the planes we already have, what are [we] doing, and why are we spending so much more money?” — Trump said during the show.

“So when I hear that… I say we have to do something,” Trump continued.

Trump was referring to a test report that was leaked last June describing the F-35’s poor performance, especially when it came to combat maneuvering capabilities.

Furthermore, last month the Pentagon revealed that the F-35 ejection seat could snap the necks of lighter-weight pilots. That’s why until the potentially fatal problem is resolved, the US military announced it would restrict pilots weighing less than 136 pounds from operating the plane.

In addition to technical problems, F-35 fighters are in low demand among US allies. Canada, for example, planned to purchase 65 Lockheed Martin-made F-35s to be the country’s next-generation tactical fighter at a cost of $45 billion.

However, the election of Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party during the past Canadian election might change that. During his election campaign, Trudeau promised to scrap the F-35 deal, stating it was too expensive.

Perhaps then Trump might be right. Why spend more money on something new that can’t perform better than the existing product?

Interview, Anna Maria Tremonti with Neil Strauss. His new book is interesting. “The Game” is over. Now it’s a “Truth . . ” regarding relationships.

 Culture and Ethics  No Responses »
Nov 032015
 

http://canadapodcasts.ca/podcasts/TheCurrent/4639876 

Neil Strauss was a music journalist when he turned an assignment on pick-up artists into a controversial book. “The Game” was considered a bible for how to pick-up-women-for-sex. But after living The Game, he eventually realized it was Game Over.

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