Letter to Globe & Mail re 'war on drugs'

On Saturday, December 18th, The Globe & Mail ran a long editorial about the war against the drug cartels being waged by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, exhorting them to greater efforts, without once mentioning that the foundation of gang activity and wealth is the 'war on drugs' itself. Below, is my response, with the parts edited out in italics; it was published in the G&M on Monday, December 20th.

"Your editorial wasted 752 words dancing around the elephantine fact that [T]he least expensive (in lives and money), and most effective single blow against organized crime in all three countries would be to legalize the possession of recreational drugs, and treat addiction as a medical problem.

"Legalization, while not a panacea, if followed by appropriate regulations, licensing, and taxation would address both drug use and addiction, while freeing millions of dollars for treatment and education that are currently wasted on a revolving door of police, courts, and prisons. And, without a lucrative black market for the gangs to fight bloody turf wars over, and without the need for addicts to steal, the rest of us would be much safer.

"As long as Harper, Obama, and Calderon persist in waging their war on drugs, thus continuing to make the minor problem of addiction into the major one of organized crime, they will remain the three best friends of the Hell’s Angels."

Sunflower Collage

Omar Khadr--A Travesty of Justice

Omar Khadr's guilty plea doesn't prove his guilt; all it proves is that, if you capture a badly-wounded child soldier (shot twice in the back), subject him to cruel treatment in an illegal prison for eight years, bring him before a kangaroo court in which judge and jury belong to, and represent, the organization that is bringing the charges against him, then, that person, faced with a foreordained finding of guilt, and the prospect of a sentence of twenty years or more, may finally give up, and accept a lesser, though still inhumane, sentence. The entire procedure is utterly disgusting.

I'm equally disgusted by the Conservative Government's shameful abandonment of Mr. Khadr to the U.S.'s mockery of a justice system.

I'm not a Muslim; I loathe all religions. I protest the treatment of Mr. Khadr because I loathe injustice more.

Vista collage

Another collage based on the Harris Green

Tree collage

This collage was composed from photographs of trees and
views on the Harris Green in Victoria

Bald-faced hornets interactions

The bald-faced hornets quite often drink peacefully together, and then, for no reason discernible to me, engage in fierce-looking tumbling fights that sometimes end up with the combatants literally ‘in the drink’.

Bald-faced hornets

I’ve become fascinated with bald-faced hornets—big black-and-white hornets which look fearsome but are not aggressive unless their nest is threatened. I put out a feeder for them to keep them away from my hummingbird feeders as the hornets drive the hummingbirds away, even though the hummers are much larger. This is a sterile worker female in flight.

Pond and fauna

This is a photo I entered in the Monday Magzine photo contest in the category '10'.

The NDP and the HST

I think Carole James and the NDP are making a mistake when they claim that nothing can be done about the HST for five years, when it comes up for re-negotiation. This stance only encourages the cynical view among voters that this is merely a cover to allow the NDP to keep the HST if they formed government

Instead, the NDP should take the stand that the solution to the HST is a political, not a legislative, one because, if the provincial Government pointed out to Prime Minister Harper that he stands to lose all 22 Conservative seats in B.C. over the issue in the next federal election, he might be open to terminating the present agreement. This is not an idle threat; if Harper refused to bow to the will of the citizens of B.C. he would indeed pay dearly for it at the polls.

The NDP should consider putting forward an alternative form of the PST--making it a value-added tax, like the GST, except that it would not be applied to services. If services are not taxed, restaurants, hair salons, notary publics and other service-based businesses would once more be exempt from taxation as they were under the old PST, while all businesses would benefit from rebates on the business-related PST they pay, just like the ones they presently receive under the HST.

For years, the NDP has been so afraid of the epithet 'tax and spend' that the party has failed to engage openly and honestly with citizens about the principles underlying the NDP's approach to taxation. The NDP should embrace the phrase, and every time someone tries to use it against them, the party should boldly assert, "Yes, like any government, we will tax and spend--unlike the Liberals, we will tax fairly and spend wisely."

Economists approve of consumption taxes instead of income taxes on the theory that the less income is taxed the more is available for savings to be invested in the economy. However, there is no guarantee that such savings will be invested in the Canadian economy.

The higher one's income, the more one benefits from the shift to consumption taxes which is one reason, I believe, why the rich continue to grow richer and middle income earners, poorer (the lowest incomes are somewhat protected by tax rebates). Middle income earners, while they may benefit somewhat from lower income taxes, still, when consumption taxes are imposed instead, do not have as much money left over after the necessities of life are provided for as do those on higher incomes and this gap widens every time income taxes are cut and consumption taxes imposed instead.

The NDP should start a conversation with the citizens of B.C. on all aspects of taxation, especially the relative benefits and down-sides of income and consumption taxes, and what combination of the two would be the fairest and most effective for all taxpayers.

Minister Tony Clement is no hero

The following letter to a local radio station relates to a recent news story in which Tony Clement, Minister of Industry was treated by the media as if he'd actually rescued a swimmer in distress, when he'd done no such thing.

"What is this nonsense that Tony Clement is a hero? He didn't rescue anyone. Instead, he put himself in danger by diving into the river, fully dressed, without plan or forethought, and he's lucky he didn't have to be rescued himself. Clement's wife and father-in-law were the ones with the foresight to grab a life-jacket, and run down the river to intercept the swimmer. But this point is not given the prominence it deserves; instead the coverage focused on Clement's totally useless act.

"Clement's plunge into the river is on a par with his other plunge into stupidity--the replacement of the mandatory long form of the census with a totally useless voluntary form. Both are acts taken without an intelligent assessment of the situation. On the river, Clement only put himself in danger; with regard to the census, he endangers sensible public policies at all levels by degrading the quality of the information that organizations of all kinds, public and private, will have to work with in future."

Bushtits

One female and two male bushtits. I assume they're siblings used to being in a nest together.

Female Anna's Hummingbirds Contending over Feeder

Though the females do get into spats as the photo shows, they will also, at times, feed together.

Spider in Its Web

The same garden spider at a different time.

Spider with Prey

I took a series of photos of this spider dealing with a wasp that had blundered into its web.

Bushtit

Bushtits are among my favourite birds. This is a male as can be told by its dark eyes.

Hummingbird

Letter to Premier Campbell Regarding His Legacy and the Purchase of Western Forest Products Land

Greetings Premier Campbell,

Whether you fight the next election, or not, it's never too soon to start thinking about your legacy: Will you be known as the premier who couldn't find the money to preserve a forest in perpetuity, but had $458 million to spend on a new roof for a sports stadium?

Or will you be remembered as the man who had the wisdom and grace to admit his government made a mistake regarding the Western Forest Products lands, and took innovative steps to rectify his error?

You and your government are not very popular right now, but enabling the purchase of the WFP lands would certainly enhance your image. Here's how to do it: 1) Immediately provides funds to UBC to purchase, and establish an experimental forest on, all 12,000 hectares of WFP land. (Perhaps one day to be known as the Gordon M. Campbell-UBC Experimental Forest?)

2) Raise the funds by issuing special 'B.C. Green Bonds' (Don't let the fact that the NDP has previously suggested using them to raise money for green projects; I'm sure they would support this initiative.) At a respectable rate of interest (between 3 and 4%), available in denominations as low as $50 (so that even those on relatively low incomes can participate); at a time when many investors are wary of the stock market and would welcome a safe and laudatory place to put their money; and because the funds would be dedicated to a cause about which many people in B.C. care deeply, it should be relatively easy to raise the approximately $100 million needed to purchase the 12,000 hectares of threatened lands.

The advantage of raising funds in this fashion is that, while B.C. Green Bonds would be debt, they would be the most useful kind of debt, creating a win-win situation for B.C. residents. We benefit, on the one hand, as investors (interest on the bonds), and on the other, as taxpayers (the acquisition and preservation of priceless forest and tidal habitats). In effect, we transfer our money from one pocket to another, and in the process, save a magnificent tract of land while making a modest income from our investment.

I'm sorry to have to mention it, but there is a question of trust where your government is concerned. To address the fact that many people in B.C. no longer believe that you will do what you say you will do, B.C. Green Bonds should have the following safeguards: 1) for sale to B.C. residents only; 2) sold through the province's credit unions; 3) to ensure that the funds are not swallowed up in general revenues, proceeds to be deposited in a special account at one of the province's credit unions, and to be disbursed therefrom to purchase the land; 4) if demand is vigorous enough, to expand the fund to purchase other endangered habitats.

But Premier, you must act quickly. The lands in question are being brutally logged as I write. You must stop the logging, and the sale of the land for real estate development, immediately (I'm sure a word to Stephen Frasher, CEO of Western Forest Products would do it) preparatory to your taking another visionary step (greater even than saving the Flathead Valley, because the people of B.C. could participate directly in partnership with you), for the lasting benefit of present and future generations.

Hummingbird

A female Anna's hummingbird preening her tail.

Crow

Flicker

This flicker visits the suet-holder from time to time.

Stephen Harper is Morally Unfit to be Prime Minister

Proroguing Parliament is only one more example of Stephen Harper's lack of moral character. It's not the fact of prorogation per se; it can be a reasonable and acceptable action to take; the current problem is when it was done, and why.

By proroguing Parliament between Christmas and New Year's, when he knew few people (including the media who were deep into their year-end reviews and interviews) were paying attention, Harper revealed his consciousness that the public would not approve of his move, and therefore announced it in the sneakiest way possible. Even with that strategy, the public is beginning to react and protest. According to the CBC, as of January 5th, "More than 25,000 people have joined an anti-prorogation group on Facebook following Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to suspend Parliament for two months until after the Vancouver Winter Olympics."

Harper called for prorogation for two selfish, partisan, anti-democratic reasons--to give himself time to appoint more Senators (remember when he promised not to do so?) and more crucially, to shut down the Parliamentary committee which was investigating the Government's policies and actions regarding Afghanistan detainees.

Beyond that move, Harper is morally unfit to govern because he is a liar, a coward, and a bully.

He lied most grievously in 2008, when he characterized the Opposition's coalition as an attempt to 'overthrow' the Government, when his Government exists only with the support of Parliament, and that coalitions, while they may be rare in Canada, are perfectly legal and acceptable. Canadians do not elect governments; we elect MPs who then put their confidence in one or more parties in the House to form the Government. Among them, the Opposition parties represented a majority of the citizens of Canada and should have been allowed their chance to express the will of that majority.

Among many examples, Harper's cowardice is exhibited every time he hides behind the troops, by falsely accusing the Opposition of attacking our soldiers, when he knows full well it is he and Peter MacKay who are under attack regarding what was done, or not done, to protect Afghan detainees from torture.

Harper bullies civil servants who don't say or do what he wants them to, by viciously attacking them (Richard Colvin for his testimony regarding the Afghan detainees); reducing their budgets (Kevin Page, Parliamentary Budget Officer, whose reports give the lie to the Government's propaganda); firing them (Linda Keen, former president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, who refused to allow the re-starting of the Chalk River reactor because she considered it unsafe); or refusing to re-appoint them.

Those not re-appointed include Paul Kennedy, head of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, for his scathing report on the RCMP's handling of the Robert Dziekanski case, and most significant of all, Peter Tinsley, chair of the Military Police Complaints Commission, who was conducting a tough investigation into what the Government knew, and when they knew it, regarding the treatment of the detainees. If Harper and Peter MacKay have nothing to hide, they would call a public inquiry into the handling of Afghan detainees, to settle the matter, once and for all.

Harper is a man who will say and do anything he thinks will aid him in his ruthless and relentless pursuit of a majority government, and the power to strip the federal government of all spending power for social programs, leaving the entire responsibility for health, education, welfare, and so forth to the provinces. By the time Harper gets through with this country, Canada will consist of little more 10 fiefdoms and a federal government scarcely worth the name. If he's ever given a majority, the man who wanted to 'firewall' Alberta will finally get his way ten times over.

Swan and gull

This picture was taken at Esquimalt Lagoon in the summer of 2009. The swan was being chased by another swan, and the gull was just flying by.