The Long and Short of It:
Why I Am Resisting the Census
by Sandra Finley
In the
reading of “to Eric”, it is important to understand the
consequences of “offset agreements”.
Canadians
are paying more than $11 billion dollars to Lockheed Martin Corporation through
various Government contracts. Through offset agreements in the contracts, 75%
of those taxes then go to build the military-industrial-parliamentary complex
in Canada. Lockheed is in the business of killing people and destroying the
environment. The Canadian economy will become as dependent upon the waging of
war and as debt-laden, as the American. IF we allow it.
NEVER has
killing solved any problems. It creates terrorists, it drives us into
indebtedness (we pay taxes in order to pay billions of dollars in dividends for
share-holders and in interest to banks), it de-stabilizes, it means that we do
not have money to invest in the new economy which is one based on caring for
the Earth and for others.
Get rid of
immoral corporations. Please read on; the situation is more complex than just
that, understand the WHY of the growing American military presence in Canada.
The remedy calls for bringing down Lockheed Martin Corporation. You can do
that by refusing to cooperate with the May 2011 census, as long as Lockheed
Martin with sub-contractor IBM has census contracts.
And fight
to hold onto the unconditional Charter Right to Privacy. It is critical.
I say this to
Eric and to others who have any doubts about the necessity of upholding the Charter
Right to Privacy. It is a serious situation with poorly-informed people who
support a mandatory long form in one way or another. The position of many
is blinded by anti-Harper bias.
I tried new
angles –
who are the vulnerable
population groups were we to lose the Right to Privacy of personal information?
This email assumes that you
are aware of the Lockheed Martin census contracts.
Sandra
Before the
email to Eric, note that we are part of Julian Assange’s work:
Links to
Julian Assange interview and wikileaks is appended. Thanks to John Keen for
identifying it as “make war against those who make war” (Lockheed
Martin).
It
is the leaders, the power at the top, who create the war. They profit.
It is the everyday citizens joined around the world who pay and who will put a
stop to it. The balance of power in the world has changed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - -
Hi Eric,
There is one
clear, simple and right position to take on the census long form.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Right to Privacy, is essential and
must be upheld. The census long form cannot be mandatory. No
accompanying contortions are necessary.
Existing law
(the Charter Right to Privacy, Section 8 case law) says: the Government
cannot force citizens to hand over a “biographical core of personal
information such as that persons in a free and democratic society would want to
maintain -- ANDcontrol from dissemination to the State.”
(The Conservatives are not changing anything. They are stating what was
already the case. As you know I am on trial for refusing to fill in the
2006 census. I did so because of Lockheed Martin Corporation’s
involvement in the Canadian census. Lockheed Martin is the American military.)
The
point: Statistical data IN COMPARISON TO the Charter Right to
Privacy (biographical core of personal information) is minor stuff.
If the
information previously sent does not convince you that the Green Party must
uphold the rule of law (Charter Right to Privacy), then please consider:
I am going to
fight to defend the Charter Right to privacy because I know that the kids who are
fighting to stop the tar sands (climate change) and the Northern Gateway
Pipeline are at risk if I don’t.
I will not
allow anyone to take away the Charter Right to Privacy because
I know
that the water activists in Canada are at risk if I don’t.
So are
Muslims and Arabs – they are the Polish people and the Jews of World War
Two – the people the police state uses propaganda against to demonize in
order to assert the military presence.
The G20
Summit in Toronto was a billion-dollar display of military police might and
tactics. The protests are happening because corporations are running the
Government. American corporate interests want Canadian water, oil,
electricity and the nuclear industry. They want them because the
U.S. faces imminent depletion of those resources. They waged war on Iraq
to secure oil. They are in the process of setting up a puppet and police
state in Canada in order to secure the resources. I didn’t make
this up – I sent the detailed documentation, the sources.
It’s all there in the public domain. (Please, anyone, feel free to
request a copy of the chronology which lays this out.)
Consider
yet-another occurrence:
I did an
interview with the New York Times over the Canadian census and the out-sourcing
to Lockheed Martin Corporation. I sent the information on
Lockheed’s role to the reporter. . . . What got reported in
the NYT? . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/world/americas/24canada.html?_r=1&ref=canada
Intense Debate
in Canada Over Longer Census
ByIAN AUSTEN
Published:
July 23, 2010
“a
small number of people refused to fill out (the Canadian) census forms.
But they were protesting the use of an American technology contractor.”
“AN
AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY CONTRACTOR”?! Don’t
mention the name Lockheed Martin Corporation? They’re better known
in the U.S. than in Canada. Keep the people in the dark. This is
the way propaganda is used in a police state.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I documented
that Lockheed Martin Corporation is one of the main corporate players in the
determination by the Americans to appropriate oil, electricity, water and the
nuclear industry in Canada. Maclean’s magazine, Sept 13,
2006: http://www.macleans.ca/canada/national/article.jsp?content=20060911_133202_133202 “Meet Nafta
2.0”, Ron Covais, President of the Americas for Lockheed Martin, in
relation to the SPP meeting)
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I showed you
the statement made in the Ottawa Citizen in 2008:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=64f59d78-ce97-48dc-b2fd-381859ce6c84
(I believe "visa-free access" is a tactic of attempted
intimidation to which Canadians should not bow.)
“… In exchange for continued visa-free access to the
United States, 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. . Canadian officials have
said this country will meet the new standard, "plus or minus a
little," by 2011, he said. "But there'll be tremendous pressure (from
the U.S.) to get there faster."
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
There is no
better way for the American military to gain access to the most comprehensive
data base on all Canadians than through Lockheed Martin census contracts (the
Patriot Act applies to subsidiaries). Also, Lockheed Martin will
have our health records: “a
premier systems integrator to manage and deliver large-scale electronic health
record solutions for the Canadian healthcare sector”, using their
“heritage in the aerospace and military markets”. http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/HealthcareInformationSystemsIntegration/index.html They already
manage the health records of the Canadian military.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lockheed
Martin is the American military. One of their specialties is
international surveillance, along with weapons of mass destruction including
unmanned aerial vehicles (unmanned drones).
It is an act
of treason to out-source census work to Lockheed Martin (with IBM as a
sub-contractor) - they are the biggest liars on the planet with a string
of court convictions to prove it. They were also instrumental in the
decision of the Americans to drop bombs on Iraq in order to secure oil.
They used lies and propaganda in order to start that war so they could get the
oil. Oil = tar sands.
Anyone who
believes the line “Lockheed Martin only does software for the Canadian
census” is worse than naive. They have no knowledge of history (the
use of propaganda) or of Lockheed Martin’s record. Only military
states maintain comprehensive files (read “census long form”) on
individual citizens. Lockheed Martin is the American military.
The point I
made: “Statistical data in comparison to the Charter Right to
Privacy of personal information is minor stuff” requires that you have an
appreciation of the significance of the Charter Right to Privacy.
Unfortunately
most Canadians do not KNOW the Charter Right, let alone its significance.
Democracy (Charter Rights and Freedoms for example) and history are not well
taught in Canadian schools.
Pretend that
you are one of the people who
1.
know that
climate change is a large threat to the world
2. have locked down and
blockaded a giant dump truck and shovel at Shell's massive Albian Sands
open-pit mine in northern Alberta to send the message that the tar sands are a
global climate crime that must be stopped.
3. convinced the Norwegian
Parliament that their crown corporation should get out of the tar sands
4. are the First Nations
people who will not allow the Northern Gateway Pipeline which is
supposed to carry tar sands products from Fort McMurray to the West Coast.
5. Police arrested
after a protest that saw activists scale the
Parliament building in Ottawa and drape it with banners advocating government
action to combat climate change. This was just before the Copenhagen
meetings.
6. has worked locally to stop nuclear developments
7. has worked to stop water privatization
projects
8. are Muslim
9. are Arab
10. Pretend that you are someone whose country
has oil -- or even tar sands, let’s say.
11. Pretend you are a citizen of a country that
has water and is situated next-door to the U.S. that
needs water
(Reference Scripps Institute of Oceanography
report on the two largest water reservoirs in the U.S., Lake Mead and Lake
Powell behind the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams on the Colorado River:
50/50 chance that hydro-electric capacity will be gone by 2017 because of
falling water levels and 50/50 chance that the reservoirs will be bone-dry by
2021. I talked with lead researcher Tim Barnett last summer (2009) to see
if they are getting their act together to help avert disaster. He was
very pessimistic. I asked if there are going to be environmental refugees
and if the population (residential, commercial, irrigation) dependent upon
water from the Colorado River numbers in the 25 million. His
figuring is same as mine, yes.)
OKAY, now:
1.
Pretend that you
are Simon Reisman giving a speech to corporate leaders about how much money
there is to be made in selling Canadian water to the U.S. Maybe you were
in diapers at the time. It was in the 1980’s.
2.
Pretend that you
are Simon Reisman, chief negotiator for the free trade agreement (Brian
Mulroney Prime Minister) and you give away the exclusion in the free trade
agreement for water. You also negotiate so that Canadian energy has to go
to the U.S., no matter what shortages might exist in Canada, and at the same
price as in the Canadian market. The Mexican government didn’t sell
out their citizens like the Canadian Mulroney Government did.
3.
Pretend that you
are Ron Covais, President of the Americas for Lockheed Martin, who said to
Maclean’s magazine, (Meet NAFTA 2.0, Sept 13, 2006)
"We've decided not to recommend any things that would require
legislative changes, because we won't get anywhere." The main avenue for
changes would be through executive agencies, bureaucrats and regulations, he
said, adding: "The guidance from the ministers was, 'Tell us what we need
to do and we'll make it happen.'"
You want the
resources that lie in Canada. I’ve sent the information which shows
that this agenda has been in the works for decades. I’ve sent the
information that shows the crisis situation now in the western U.S. in
particular (water and hydro-electricity). If you are the American
military, part of the military-industrial-congressional complex in the U.S.,
what is
your strategy going to be?
Maybe you
think they don’t have a strategy? Maybe you think that the
successful and growing resistance in Canada to the tar sands, to privatization
of water and electricity, will not create repercussions from those who want to
appropriate? Maybe you think that these people are not in the business of
using their own agents to create the pretexts for military-police interventions
(as they did at Montebello and in Toronto)?
Hundreds of
thousands of young men (mostly) gave their lives for what we have, a Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, to protect us against totalitarian corporate
police-states. I cannot understand those who advocate we
should give that away through some form of “mandatory” long census
form. There are a lot of ill-informed people out there!
I repeat:
there is one clear and simple position for the Green Party to take.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Right to Privacy, is essential and
must be upheld. End of sentence.
Best wishes,
Sandra Finley
306-373-8078
On 26-Jul-10, at 11:59 PM, Sandra Finley wrote:
Hello
Eric,
Regarding
your question: If there is no
penalty for not filling out a "mandatory" Census then how do
you see this as government using "force" to hand over personal
information?
The
Government has relied on force (COERCION) because citizens do not know
their Charter Right to Privacy.
Excerpt from
another email explains it:
I think it was
obvious that the Crown (the Government) cannot win the case, which is a serious
situation for them to be in. They are using fairly extreme coercion (the
threat of jail and a fine) to force people to hand over the “biographical
core of personal information”. This is in contravention of a
constitutional right to privacy. . ….
The Government (StatsCan and the Justice Department) use the threat of the
justice system to obtain compliance, just like Monsanto coerces farmers by
using the threat of court action. You’re liable to 3 months in jail and a $500 fine (Section 31 of the
Statistics Act taken out of context, without mention of Charter Rights and
other conditions in the Statistics Act.)
Most people cannot afford the time and cost of
defending themselves against the Government, nor the possible cost of going
without income while they sit in jail. At least two people charged
for non-compliance with the 2006 census, Todd Stelmach and Darek Czernewcan,
were found guilty because they did not have the resources to defend themselves.
Most people knuckle under before they see the court doors.
Perhaps the
Justice Department, through the Crown Prosecutor, knew after the March 16th day
in court that they are in deep trouble with the law. It is all on the
transcript. I had a lawyer representing me on that day, which made a huge
difference in the likely outcome of the trial. Steve has a passion
for privacy law. He specialized in it when he was working in
Ontario. He knows what he is doing in court, unlike me.
I had
represented myself in Court up until then, and would have lost the case.
But just in time I realized that the Crown was heading for an override of the
Constitutional right to Privacy. Fortunately there was time to call in a
lawyer who knows that the Government can’t meet the test requirements
(the “Oakes”
test) for an override of the charter right. Had I not been able to call
in a lawyer, I believe the Court would have found me guilty (same as the trial
outcomes for Todd Stelmach and Darek Czernewcan) because I had no idea of how
to defend against an override of my Charter Right.
The Government
would not have flinched if I am found guilty. (My next day in court is
September 9th, 2010.) Unexpectedly they came up against the
lawyer, Steven, who knew the law; they found themselves in need of an
exit route. The way out for them was to announce that the census long
form is no longer mandatory, except that it never was mandatory under the
law.
All that was
needed was someone who they selected to bring charges against (me), who
simultaneously through whatever quirks of fate, had the support to stand up to
them in court. Otherwise they would have continued to be
disrespectful of the charter rights of citizens and gotten away with running
roughshod over them.
The Government
has counted on the ignorance of the population. It is apparent from the
media on the “no longer mandatory” nature of the census long form
that Canadians don’t know the law. Worse, they have little
comprehension of the reason why we have a Charter right to privacy. I say
this of “educated” people.
A Governments
takes away a charter right. If citizens do not:
- know WHY they have the
charter right, and
- stand up and fight to
keep the right when it is taken away
then the simple
outcome is that they, through ignorance, no longer have the right. With a
growing military presence in Canada, that is dangerous ground to give up.
- - - - - - - - - -
--
(2) ERIC
- Regarding your second question: Do you appreciate that if people can without penalty
refuse to answer the long-form census - including for reasons outlined in
your case - then this will in turn force Stats Canada to change its policies to
maintain compliance rates
The situation
is that THE LAW does not allow the Government to
force citizens to hand over “a biographical core of personal
information such as a person in a free and democratic society would want to
maintain, and control from dissemination to the state”.
We agree to
be governed by the law. Governments must uphold the law. The
Charter of Rights and Freedoms is CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, the highest laws of the
land.
The problem
is this (well explained by John Ralston Saul): we are uncomfortable with
UNCERTAINTY and COMPLEXITY. The unfortunate reality is that both are
REALITY. We don’t live in a simple and unchanging world.
Things will be just fine WITHOUT having the seeming certainty that statistics
offer. We will be REALLY screwed if we give up the Charter
Right.
You have a
choice:
- more data to tell you
that the rich are getting richer and the poor and middle classes getting
poorer OR
- upholding the rights
of citizens in a democracy that thousands upon thousands of young men have
given their lives to defend.
Or so I
see it.
Best wishes,
Sandra
From: Eric
Sent:
Monday, July 26, 2010 9:18 PM
To:
Sandra Finley
Subject:
Re: Green Position on the Census long form
Hi Sandra, If there is no penalty for not
filling out a "mandatory" Census then how do you see this as
government using "force" to hand over personal
information?
Do you appreciate that if
people can without penalty refuse to answer the long-form census - including
for reasons outlined in your case - then this will in turn force Stats
Canada to change its policies to maintain compliance rates.
Regards, Eric
On 26-Jul-10, at 10:58 PM, Sandra Finley wrote:
Hi
Elizabeth,
(The
duplication of earlier information in this is for Eric’s use and
benefit.)
SHORT
ANSWER: No, the long form should not be mandatory, even without Lockheed
Martin.
It is helpful
to understand the human psychology behind this. WHY did
the census long form strike a chord with Canadians? Why all the
fuss?
It is a
repeat of WHY did the Canadian public respond to Harper’s prorogation in
January, as they did? Why not the usual apathy?
If you
understand the psychology, I think you will find that it is prudent ALL
AROUND: the long form should not be mandatory. It is the right position
to take, from all angles, including that of gaining the support of the
public.
(1) THE GREEN PARTY SHOULD
UPHOLD THE LAWS OF CANADA.
The census long
form cannot be mandatory, by law (the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section 8, Privacy. Section 8 is about
freedom from "unreasonable search and seizure". The case law
associated with Section 8 says that the Government cannot force citizens
to hand over “a biographical core of personal information such as a
person in a free and democratic society would want to maintain, and control
from dissemination to the state”.
The reason for
the charter right is sound, based on the historical record. It is
appropriate and prudent to exercise the right to privacy of personal
information, especially in today’s world (the militarism
of the U.S., represented in this debate by Lockheed Martin Corporation).
There is increasing militarism, police-state tactics and overall weakening of
democracy in Canada. It is an environment in which the Charter Right to
Privacy becomes critical. If we do not defend it, we will not have it
when we need it. If you don’t think we will ever need it, you are
naïve. The Americans are fast approaching the wall on resource depletion,
of water, oil and electricity especially in the West.
We have the
right to privacy AND the Government cannot meet the “Oakes” test
for a Section 1 override of the Right, in relation to the census long
form.
Further, under the
Statistics Act the census long form is also not mandatory: citizens must
fill in a census form unless they have “just cause” not to do
so. They have a Charter Right to Privacy as just cause (and for good
reason if you know history). In addition, charter rights override
legislation like the Statistics Act.
People who are
calling on the Government to make the census long form mandatory don’t
understand that the law forbids this, and do not understand the importance of
Charter Rights. (I don’t know how they could even change the law to
make the long form mandatory; it would require a re-write of the common
law associated with Constitutional Law?)
Nor do they
have the information about Lockheed Martin’s role in the
census.
The Government
cannot just say, “The long form is mandatory”. They have to
abide by the laws of Canada. The long form never was mandatory.
Coercion (you’ll go to jail if you don’t fill it out) is the
only reason that it has been perceived to be mandatory. As you
know I am on trial over this issue (which started out in the form of opposition
to Lockheed Martin’s involvement in the census). This court
challenge reclaims the Charter Right to privacy. I cannot emphasize
enough: it is a very important Charter Right, one that Canadians are
ill-advised to throw away.
(2) More on the
psychology below. But I think the Green Party is dreaming if it thinks
Canadians will ever go back to a “perceived” mandatory form.
Too much has already been undone. The genie is out of the bag.
(3) GUY-ON-THE-STREET
RESPONSE to “long form not mandatory”:
The
guy-on-the-street response is not the same as that of the
vocal people who call for it to be mandatory. (The silent majority opinion is
not the same as those calling for it to be mandatory.) My sense of things
is reflected in this exchange:
Dear
Sandra, I read the newspaper briefly this morning looking for what was said -
still no mention of Lockheed Martin, However, there was one bright spot
in today's G+ M Neil Reynolds suggested that the mandatory long form of the
Census is unimportant and that many countries are eschewing. The funniest
thing was his statement that in Britain the Census found that .7 % of the
population are Jedi Knights. Lynn
Dear
Lynn,
Hey I
love it – the Jedi Knights!
That’s
along the same vein as the farmers. They receive lots of forms from
StatsCan re agricultural production - - between Revenue Canada and StatsCan and
the GST people, the Govt is not well appreciated. My Dad’s
cousin was a census supervisor at one time. He was saying last night that
the farmers lie through their teeth when it comes to Govt surveys. He
referred to some field visits he did. Just one example: the farmer
had written down that he had 40,000 bushels in the bins - - but he didn’t
even have a single bin on the farm! I hear similar comments
when I’m out in Luseland, and have for a long time.
I think there
is an established culture around getting the best of StatsCan. I suppose it
gives people a sense of power. The farmers have a laugh when
they’re dropping their forms in the mail - sort of like “they
think they can jerk me around with the demand that I supply all this
information to them, well I’ll get the better of them”.
The prima donas
are the people who want the information, from the point-of-view
of the guy-in-the-street.
It is not
just the farmers that have this attitude. I have not talked with
one person who says that they dutifully fill out the census long form with
accurate information. Quite the opposite. They are indignant
and they are pressed for time; the census form simply isn’t a
priority. StatsCan officials delude themselves if they think they get
accurate information. There are 50 pages with 40 questions. Forget
it! I’d rather get my housework done, or go golfing. Besides which it is
personal. Many of the questions require you to look up information;
people simply grab a number out of the air instead. They really do not
care. If StatsCan is dumb enough to think they are getting accurate
information, so be it.
The
difficulty with a centralized authority wielding the power, if you tell them
the preceding
(bogus data), their response is to do exactly what happened to friends here in
Saskatoon. StatsCan came in January 2010, in between censuses. Instead of leaving a form to be
filled out and mailed in, the StatsCan woman came into the house with her
laptop computer. She asked questions and entered the answers. When
it came to the figure for income tax, she insisted that they get out their actual income
tax form so she could verify it.
. .
. And they create an ever-increasing bureaucracy to get
“more and more”. With StatsCan, a chevy is no longer enough. We have
to have a loaded Cadillac of information. And there is a built-in
incentive to keep growing: if you can become a manager, a big part of
your salary is tied to the number of employees you supervise.
The farmer,
etc. starts to see that he exists in order to keep the bureaucracy
employed. You’re the cannon fodder. Hours of your time
looking up information and filling out forms that, quite frankly, ask some
pretty stupid questions. You don’t get paid for your time, but the
guys forcing you to do this (some of it is under the threat of jail and a fine)
get paid rather handsomely. You’re working hard, without
security, while they sit behind their desks; when they retire it’s
on an indexed pension.
(I definitely
do not think that all Government officials are the same. There are
excellent people, working hard in the public interest. But there are lots
of others, and there are systemic problems. There are no limits.)
- - - -- - --
-
Everyday people believe, and I think rightly so, that the
information needed by the community is in the community; it’s not
in Ottawa.
The Green
Party is about de-centralized local Governance. Centralized power
structures, whether in the former communist countries, or in Western capitalist
countries are either already overthrown, or they are in the process of being
overthrown.
A lot of what
I have heard in the recent media coverage about the “you have to”
have the data from StatsCan, “it is THE ONLY WAY” - - i.e. it
is inevitable, like globalization - - is mostly hype. There
is never only one way; we have ingenuity. People will always find
other and better ways of doing things. What we have is an
established status quo that doesn’t want to let go of what it has.
God forbid!
they think it is more important to have numbers than it is to have a Charter
Right to Privacy.
THE
PSYCHOLOGY (prorogation and census uproar) IS THIS:
- It’s like
in a relationship between two people. One person will suddenly be
triggered into an eruption. The trigger will often have nothing to do
with the underlying grievance. There is stuff that people know at some
level; they haven’t reached the point of being able to verbalize it
The back lash
against prorogation wasn’t about prorogation. At some level people
know that Harper is running roughshod over democracy. Prorogation opened
the pressure valve.
The reason
there is all the furor over the census long form is because there has been long
term simmering resentment. People are relatively powerless.
But no longer. Which is why I say I think you are dreaming if
you think we can go backwards, even a little bit. We are in the process
of fairly massive change, taking back our power from centralized authorities
– a very positive development. This is part of it.
You are aware
of my concerns around the growing presence of the American military in Canada,
represented by Lockheed Martin, The Troop Exchange Agreement, the so-called
Canada First Defence Strategy, (both from 2008). And the reasons behind
that growing presence. You know the story of “IBM and the
Holocaust” (by Edwin Black, 2001). The Nazis were able to do
what they did because IBM mechanized and grew their data files on individual
citizens. That information was mobilized for all kinds of purposes in the
Nazi state. ANY reading of history tells you: you uphold
the individual right of the citizen to Privacy of Information.
“Whites” may not understand and appreciate the WHY. Poles and
Jews most certainly should. And in today’s world, I think we have
to uphold the right, on behalf of Muslims and Arabs. And on behalf of
activists, the other vulnerable population when push comes to shove.
Sandra
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
The
two central issues around the census are:
Lockheed
Martin’s involvement.
The
Charter Right to Privacy.
Neither of
these issues is
being addressed and communicated effectively in the media coverage.
STATSCAN’S
CORPORATE CLIENT
BASE
It is also the
case that the Government attempted to force me and others, through prosecution, the threat of 3 months in jail and a fine of $500, to hand over
“a
biographical core of personal information”. From the testimony of
Anil Arora, StatsCan witness at my trial and until recently the head of the
census operation, StatsCan is bundling and selling information. Its
“client”
base includes corporations. I’ll be damned before I am coerced into handing over
information so that it can be sold to corporations. Nor will I pay in
taxes for the exorbitant costs of such a “census”. The corporations can buy their information from market survey
companies. A friend of mine does door-to-door surveys for such a
company. I have a choice, there is no coercion.
Long form or
short form, I will not be cooperating with the Canadian census as long as the
American military has ANY involvement in it.
= = = = = = = =
= = = = == == = = = = =
RE: JULIAN
ASSANGE AND WIKILEAKS
History speaks of the “balance of power” between
nation states competing for power in the international arena. They
use their “might makes right” with the largest military forces and
the superior destructive power of their weapons.
TODAY, the balance of power is between PEOPLE from every
nation, linked around the world, in opposition to the freaks of power and
control and destruction at the tops of their corporate and government
structures. It doesn’t matter which country is the perpetrator, we
have joined hands to unseat the freaks. See the wikileaks information
below.
Thanks to John Keen for identifying it as “make
war against those who make war”.
It is interesting how common themes emerge:
In phone
conversation John says “We can have absolute trust in the Government
and corporate heads to lie”.
Lynn writes
“I
just want to comment on the WikiLeaks. Last night's news was "tsk,
tsking" about the veracity of the information on Wikileaks. The U.S.
Government sources said " Aww, we knew all that, it was old news
" The British were saying "It's inaccurate" (
and the two countries - my goodness - lied to Parliament and Congress about
reasons for war) And both countries also leaked the identities of secret
service agents when those people contradicted the justification for war of each
country-(Valerie Plame in the U.S. and who was the man who was said to have
killed himself in Britain?) Veracity, accuracy indeed.”
The lies that tried to justify the war of aggression on Iraq, Lockheed Martin
influenced the decision. We are supposed to trust Lockheed Martin and the
Government?
Many thanks to Elaine for the WIKILEAKS’ most recent
escapade and related web information. Wonderful! - -
boy, does it ever give hope.
It’s worth your time to watch this short youtube
interview:
Why the world needs WikiLeaks - Focus - Al Jazeera
English
Aljazeera interview with Julian Assange, the
man behind wikileaks:
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/07/2010726112724506988.html
At 15:44, the interviewer asks Julian:
“What about your core values? .. maybe some incident
in your life that helped form them? ”
IN HIS RESPONSE, JULIAN SAYS: “ . . . capable
generous men do not create victims, they nurture victims. That’s
something from my Father and something from other capable generous men that
have been in my life … I’m a combative person. So
I’m not actually so deep on the nurture. .. There is another
way of nurturing victims, which is to police perpetrators of crime (INSERT:
Lockheed Martin). So that is something that has been in my character
for a long time.”
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- - - - -- - -
As I see it, our efforts to put an end to Lockheed
Martin’s involvement in the Canadian census is a contribution to the work
that Julian Assange and the other people at wikileaks are doing. All of
us, wherever we are, taking advantage of the particular opportunities, and also
creating the conditions for the opportunities to happen.
People ARE taking away the power from those at the top who
make the war because they profit from it.
If we don’t, we are the only ones who pay the price ,
whether we are here in Canada or over there in Afghanistan.
Canadians are paying at least 11 billion dollars in taxes to
Lockheed Martin Corp. In the end, the money is used for one thing:
to destroy. Young Canadian soldiers killed and maimed for life. You
can’t even put a dollar value on that. All because the ways of
Gandhi, non-violent resistance, are effective but they don’t
make money for the military-industrial-congressional structure.
This latest “wikileak” is a profound shift in
the balance-of-power between international citizens and the powers-at-the-tops.
Elaine wrote yesterday (July 26):
This would be an interesting place to send your articles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikileaks
It sure is raising hell this morning with the Afghan
papers!!!!!!!
Bloody time..........
Wikileaks raising hell with the Afghan papers:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/26/war-logs-wikileaks-rebuts-criticism
Wikileaks’ website: www.wikileaks.org
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- - - -- -
It will be interesting now to see
the renewed efforts to restrict internet access. To date, activists have
been able to create a furor and block each time an attempt has been made.
It doesn’t matter that the
New York Times covers for Lockheed Martin Corporation*, and that the Canadian
media has been largely silent on Lockheed’s involvement in the Canadian
census and the Charter Right to Privacy. Everyday people are taking
over.
People on my street in Canada
spreading the information that will help the people who would like to walk like
us, on their street in Afghanistan or Iraq. It is the leaders, the power
at the top, who create the war. It is the everyday citizens who will put
a stop to it. All we have to do is share the information in our
networks. A fun way to do the revolution, eh?
(*New York Times “a small
number of people refused to fill out (The Canadian) census forms. But
they were protesting the use of an American technology contractor.” “AN
AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY CONTRACTOR”. Don’t mention the
name Lockheed Martin Corporation. Media dedicated to Keep the People in
the Dark.)
= = = = = = = = = = = = == == = = = = =
Email
from:
Sandra
Finley
Saskatoon
SK S7N 0L1